StaffOn October 20, at the State of the University address, I unveiled the new strategic plan for Augusta University: Beyond Boundaries. This plan was created with widespread input from our faculty, staff, alumni and friends and will serve as our guide for the next five years.
The Medical College of Georgia has a legacy of reaching “beyond boundaries” and will play a prominent role in our success. MCG’s faculty, staff and students are inspired and energized by relationships across disciplines. With many educational and clinical locations statewide, MCG has historically worked beyond the confines of our campus. And we have forged partnerships with universities, as well as with entrepreneurs, industry and government entities to meet the challenges that face our community, our state and our nation.
Beyond Boundaries sets our course in four areas: education; research and scholarship; clinical care; and economic outreach and development. As you will find, MCG is featured centrally in each of these areas:
Education
We will continue to build upon our reputation in medical education. Improving interdisciplinary and interprofessional opportunities for our faculty, staff and students is a high impact practice that will enrich our learning environment. We will deepen our public/private partnerships in health sciences and biomedical research to leverage our position as Georgia’s only public academic medical center. The plan also calls on us to increase the number of off-campus and clinical practice sites for high-growth programs. To achieve all of these goals, we will need to continue to recruit, retain and support outstanding faculty.
Research and Scholarship
Since I arrived at Augusta University, I have made clear my aspiration to make MCG a top-50 medical school in research. This area of our plan challenges us to expand our sponsored research, particularly in cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic diseases and neurological disorders, all of which are major health issues for Georgia. We want to leverage our educational network to become a model for coordinated statewide research. As this research progresses, we want to be the statewide leader in translational research, bringing advances from the lab to the patient as rapidly and efficiently as possible.
Clinical Care
Augusta University is committed to providing high-quality, accessible, value-based, patient- and family-centered care in Georgia and beyond. We will create the health care workforce of the future through interprofessional collaboration and integration across our clinical, academic and research missions. As the state’s only public academic medical center, we will leverage the combination of our missions to lead in the development of best practices in health care.
Economic Outreach and Development
We must fulfill our unique responsibility to create a healthier, more prosperous state and nation and train the next generation of health care professionals while enhancing the size and prestige of our residency programs. We must also strengthen partnerships with our clinical and teaching sites across the state and seek strategic opportunities to expand our footprint, including clinical and ambulatory sites in the Central Savannah River Area. We can make important contributions to improve health and promote wellness practices in rural areas through Augusta University’s Center for Rural Health Support and Study. And of course we will continue to expand our role as the leader in continuing education for health professionals in Georgia.
This plan is the beginning of an important journey. I encourage you to review the entire plan, as well as regular updates on our progress on our strategic planning website below.
I would also encourage those of you who are alumni and friends of MCG and of Augusta University to join our faculty, staff and students on this journey. Achieving our goals will require an investment of time and resources. There are many ways that you can contribute, and I would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about how you might help us continue to build on the remarkable legacy of the Medical College of Georgia.
Brooks Keel, PhD
President, Augusta University
CEO, AU Health System
See our strategic plan in full here.
