Chairman’s Message – Fall 2023

The Medical College of Georgia is one of the nation’s oldest medical schools, now approaching nearly 200 years of service to the State of Georgia. It has been and remains one of the outstanding medical institutions in America. Its track record of producing outstanding healthcare professionals is known nationally, and many aspiring students seek to be part of its classes. Soon, our medical school class will enroll 300 students on campuses across the State of Georgia, with a new 4-year campus in Savannah in addition to the campus in Atlanta, made possible by the health system’s recent merger with WellStar. Our dental school, now training classes of nearly 100 students, is one of the finest in the nation in academics and facilities. Through the collaborative work of the Colleges of Nursing and Allied Health, the future of healthcare in Georgia is promising.

The MCG Foundation was established in 1954 by a few wise and generous graduates and faculty and now manages assets approaching $400M, much of which is earmarked to support the work of MCG and the health sciences campus at Augusta University. These funds, significantly enhanced by the nearly $80M so graciously given by the late Dr. J. Harold Harrison and his wife Sue, have allowed the Foundation the opportunity to establish one of the premiere programs in the country – the Harrison Fellows. The program provides full-tuition scholarships annually in addition to supporting ten distinguished faculty tasked with training the next generation of doctors.

The MCG Foundation is blessed with an outstanding volunteer board comprised of healthcare providers and community leaders collectively providing wise counsel to board leadership in finance, real estate, investments, and stewardship. Their loyalty, energy, service, and gracious gifts represent the great spirit of our alumni and communities and create the great culture we enjoy. The Foundation is equally blessed with an outstanding administrative staff, including our President/CEO, Ian Mercier, and COO/CFO, Angela Rees. The staff are individually and collectively wise, productive, and involved. They make the wheels of the Foundation turn.

I am proud to share that through the Foundation’s relationship with Agility Investments, we have grown the Foundation’s assets by over $70M since the partnership’s establishment. Under the prudent management of Chris Bittman, Amita Schultes, and the Agility team, the Foundation’s investments are diversely built to take advantage of a variety of markets – protecting donor assets even in the poorest of economies. I am humbled by their wise counsel, availability, and track records, and I fully believe electing to work with them has been one of the Foundation’s wisest moves.

The MCG 3 Plus Rural and Underserved in Medicine program is well on its way to providing a consistent stream of primary care physicians to the neediest parts of the State. The Foundation is proud to have provided nearly $10M in aggregate funding to the program, matching contributions by the State of Georgia and other donors like Centene and Peach State. The program has grown to over $40M since its establishment.

In support of the university’s academic mission, the Foundation provided funding for 340 scholarships and 72 endowed chairs. This funding includes dollars earmarked directly by the Foundation Board for eleven scholarships to underrepresented students (ten for the MCG and 1 for the Dental College of Georgia).

Also, and in keeping with our articles of incorporation, the Foundation continues to partner with the Augusta National Golf Club, the Community Foundation, and the Boys and Girls Club to support the underserved areas surrounding the health sciences campus. This work started with the HUB for Community Innovation – a $23M community center supporting healthcare, literacy, education, and development – and continues through the Choice Neighborhoods project, a $50M HUD grant supporting community revitalization.

The development of our 15th Street campus continues, though the process has been long and challenging. However, the Board remains optimistic about the vision of an exceptional gateway to the health sciences campus and MCG that will bring an excellent return on this long-term investment.

Overall, the state of our Foundation is excellent, and we remain steadfast in our work to honor so many who have invested their gracious gifts, time, and talent in the Medical College of Georgia and Augusta University.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your chairman.

Charles G. Green, Jr., MD
Chairman of the Board
Medical College of Georgia Foundation