FROM STUDENT LEADER TO UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

How Russell Keen’s Georgia
Southern experience shaped him as a leader.

When Russell Keen, Ed.D., (’99, ’14) was appointed president of Augusta University in July 2024, it was more than a professional milestone – it was a full-circle moment. A first-generation college student raised in Augusta, Georgia, the journey to university leadership began years earlier at Georgia Southern University, where he discovered his passion for education, leadership and institutional advancement.

Georgia Southern wasn’t just a college choice for Keen – he said it always felt like the place he was supposed to be. As a high school student, he frequently traveled to Statesboro for football games, and he was drawn to the energy of the campus and the strength of its academic programs, particularly in its College of Education.

“The prospect of going to Georgia Southern and preparing for a career in education was very appealing to me,” noted Keen.

But Keen’s time at Georgia Southern was more than an academic pursuit, it was a formative journey. From his early days working at Archibald’s Restaurant (now Gnat’s Landing), to his deep involvement on campus and in the community, Keen developed skills and relationships that would help shape his career.

A FOUNDATION IN LEADERSHIP Keen first emerged as a student leader as president of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity and later became president of the Student Government Association (SGA). His tenure as SGA president coincided with a pivotal transition in University leadership, as Bruce Grube, Ph.D., became Georgia Southern’s 11th president in 1999. Keen worked closely with administrators, faculty, staff and state leaders, gaining fi rsthand experience in governance, diplomacy and institutional advancement.

“I had so many wonderful professors and administrators who were mentors for me,” Keen said. “The culture lived out by the faculty, staff and administrators at Georgia Southern enabled me to learn just as much outside of the classroom as I did inside the classroom.”

One of Keen’s most enduring inspirations was Gladys Love, who worked in Georgia Southern’s Russell Student Union.

“I still tell people that one of the best student aff airs professionals I’ve ever met was at Georgia Southern,” Keen said. “Mrs. Love knew students by name and demonstrated the care and compassion you would expect coming from a member of your extended family. She embodied the type of student-centered culture that everyone in higher education should aspire to emulate.”

Following graduation, Keen worked in banking for a year and began making plans to move to Atlanta. However, a blind d changed everything.

After he got home from his first date with Karen Brinson (’99), he knew he’d met his future wife. Less than a year later, he proposed to her on Sweetheart Circle, and they were married in 2001.

Committed to staying in Statesboro, Keen accepted a position as Georgia Southern’s director of annual giving.

BRINGING LEADERSHIP TO AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY After graduating, Keen’s career took him from fundraising roles at Georgia Southern and the University of Georgia (UGA) to a decade-long tenure serving Georgia Southern in various roles leading up to vice president for government aff airs and external relations.

In 2015, when Georgia Southern President Brooks Keel, Ph.D., transitioned from Georgia Southern to lead Augusta University, he asked Keen if he wanted to go home – it was an opportunity Keen embraced, joining Keel as executive vice president and chief of staff.

“At that time, I’d spent just as much time in Statesboro as I had at home in Augusta,” said Keen. “Some people said, how could you work for another institution when you love Georgia Southern so much? And I’ve equated it to when you have your second child. For those of us who have more than one child…at first, you couldn’t possibly imagine loving another one as much as the first, right? However, your capacity for love grows. That’s the best way I can describe my love for both Georgia Southern and Augusta University.”

Over the next nine years, Keen’s work helped earn him the reputation of a leader who effectively builds strategic partnerships, engages stakeholders and secures critical resources to advance institutional priorities.

During this time, he also earned a Doctor of Education in higher education management from UGA. When Keel retired in July 2024, Keen was appointed president of Augusta University.

At the helm, Keen oversees the state’s preeminent public health sciences and medical research university. A public research institution with 11 colleges and schools including the Medical College of Georgia (MCG), the Dental College of Georgia, and the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center, Augusta University has a statewide mission.

The university is comprised of world-renowned faculty and physician-scientists who dedicate themselves to life-changing and lifesaving translational research. Through its partnership with Wellstar MCG Health, Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia, and the entire Wellstar Health System, researchers and physician-scientists are on the cutting edge of innovation and discovery related to cancer, immunotherapy, brain health, stroke, heart and vascular care, diabetes and obesity, and fetal and maternity care. Additionally, MCG partners with institutions throughout Georgia to expand its reach and access. Recently, those partnerships took a powerful turn of fate. MCG Savannah, the medical school’s third four-year campus, opened its doors on Georgia Southern’s Armstrong Campus with an inaugural cohort of 41 students in July 2024.

“The opportunity to leverage the Medical College of Georgia’s longtime relationship with St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System and Georgia Southern’s Armstrong Campus is a transformative collaboration that will help strengthen health care across the state,” Keen said.

Keen’s first year as president has been one of incredible growth, including record enrollment at Augusta University with 11,584 students, historic state funding including $99 million for a new translational research building, nearly $30 million in additional philanthropic funding, and a renewed commitment to creating a campus culture where every interaction matters.

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Keen was officially invested as Augusta University’s second president in April, an occasion that was marked by overwhelming support from the community and the state of Georgia. The investiture brought together many of his family, teachers, colleagues and mentors who helped shape his education and leadership journey from the very beginning.

“As the years go by for all of us, the moments or encounters with people from different seasons of our lives are really special,” he said.

“Having my first grade teacher, eighth grade teacher, middle school and high school band teachers, and high school chorus teacher take part in the ceremony was incredibly meaningful to me and really highlights the power of education at all levels.”

As president, Keen remains committed to strengthening Augusta University’s research enterprise, expanding access to education and deepening its impact across the state and beyond. He is particularly focused on positioning Augusta University as one of the premier health sciences research universities in the nation and a destination of choice for faculty, staff , students and collaborators.

Augusta University is focused on changing lives through education and saving lives through research and clinical care.

“It’s a privileged opportunity to do this,” Keen said. “First Lady (Karen) Keen and I believe that this is our calling, and we are focused on serving our students, faculty, staff , community and state for as long as we possibly can. We thank God for the opportunity and are profoundly grateful to Chancellor Perdue and the University System of Georgia Board of Regents for their confidence and support.”