Coronation of King Charles III: Augusta University professor talks about what to expect

May 1, 2023

2 min

Eyes from around the world will be on Westminster Abbey in London this weekend as King Charles III is crowned king following the passing his mother Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022.

As you might expect, there will be plenty of pageantry involved with the ceremony.

Ruth McClelland-Nugent, PhD, is chair of History, Anthropology and Philosophy at Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Augusta University and an expert on the royal family.

McClelland-Nugent said this is a major day for those in the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent, some parts of the Commonwealth "where the British monarch is still monarch, such as Charles will become king of Canada as well as the U.K."

The coronation is a religious service of the Church of England, so there will be a number of traditions upheld, such as anointing of the king with blessed oil, and by the end of the ceremony, Charles will have officially received his crown and his scepter, as well as the traditional robes and stole that mark him as king. The crown and the orb that will be used during the coronation date back to 1661 for King Charles II. New crowns were needed after the Puritans melted the old ones down during the English Civil Wars.

“These are very traditional things, and reinforce the ancient idea that the monarch is selected by God to have authority over people,” said McClelland-Nugent. "However, for the first time, there will be participation from clergy of other faiths as well, since the king has invited clergy from the Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist faiths to participate, reflecting the great religious diversity in the U.K.”

She also said those watching the coronation, in-person or virtually, will be invited to swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch, giving the entire country a role in the ceremony for the first time.

“It will probably feel very formal and ancient to any Americans who watch it, and it is, but it will be the most informal and diverse coronation in recent British history,” McClelland-Nugent said.

Others in the royal family will also play roles in the ceremony. Queen Camilla will be crowned alongside Charles. Princess Anne, Charles' sister, will lead a procession of armed forces and other personnel behind the new king and queen when they leave Westminster Abbey.

“Look for her to be on horseback. This is a highly prestigious role and not one carried out by a woman previously.”

McClelland-Nugent said Prince William, Prince of Wales, who is now heir to the crown, will make an oath of loyalty directly to the newly crowned king.

Some of the king’s grandchildren and queen’s grandchildren will also serve roles during the coronation.

If you're a reporter covering the coronation and all the events leading up to it this week, then let our experts help with your stories. Ruth McClelland-Nugent is available for interviews; simply click on her icon now to arrange a time to talk today.

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Ruth McClelland-Nugent, PhD

Chair History, Anthropology & Philosophy

Dr. Ruth McClelland-Nugent focuses on gender and politics in popular culture. Fields in US, Canadian, and British history.

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Aug 20, 2026

3 min

AU Hosts Congressional Hearing on 'Building an AI-Ready America'

The U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce held its first artificial intelligence field hearing of the year, titled "Building an AI-Ready America: How AI Is Creating Opportunities Across America's Workforce," at the Georgia Cyber Center at Augusta University on July 24. U.S. Rep. Rick W. Allen, who represents Georgia's 12th District and chairs the committee's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired the hearing. He was joined by U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia. Jeffery Talbert, PhD, chair of Augusta University's Department of Artificial Intelligence and Health at the Medical College of Georgia and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, served as one of four witnesses at the hearing. "Today, we examine how artificial intelligence, AI, is creating economic opportunities for American workers, job creators and our communities," Allen told the committee. "There's no better place to hold this hearing than right here in Augusta." Allen said the combination of the Georgia Cyber Center and Fort Gordon provides the expertise needed to discuss AI. "Fort Gordon is just a short 30-minute drive from where we currently sit," he said. "It hosts the Army Cyber Center of Excellence and is home to Army Cyber School, which trains, educates and develops the Army's Cyberspace and Electronic Warfare workforce. Every year, thousands of people leave Fort Gordon looking for work." He added that the Georgia Cyber Center "was created to meet this growing demand and drive collaboration between academia, government and industry stakeholders to equip a superior cybersecurity workforce with the skills they need." Augusta University President Russell T. Keen told the committee it was an honor for AU's Georgia Cyber Center to host the hearing. "Congressman Allen has long recognized the important role that education, innovation and workforce development play in strengthening our state and our nation," Keen said. He added that AI "will continue to change how we live, how we learn, how we work and how we solve problems," and that Augusta University "intends to lead in that transformation in ways that strengthen our workforce, advance discovery, improve lives, change lives and save lives." Talbert, who has more than 30 years of experience in biomedical informatics, has published approximately 260 times and has led more than 100 funded research projects totaling more than $130 million. He told the committee that in health care, AI is demonstrating its greatest value through augmentation, helping professionals "work more effectively, reducing administrative burdens, improving patient outcomes and expanding workforce capacity." He pointed to ambient documentation technology, which converts clinical conversations into draft notes clinicians review and approve, as one of the industry's most successful AI applications. "Multiple studies show these tools reduce documentation burden, after-hours work and burnout," Talbert said. "One multisystem implementation found clinician burnout fell from approximately 52 percent to 39 percent." He also cited studies showing AI-assisted breast cancer screening detecting approximately 29 percent higher cancer rates, "helping more patients benefit from earlier diagnosis and treatment." America's opportunity, Talbert said, "is not simply to adopt AI, but to lead its responsible development, education and implementation." He pointed to Augusta University's Department of AI and Health, the first of its kind in Georgia, as an example of that approach. Allen closed the hearing by cautioning against a one-size-fits-all approach to AI policy. "The needs of a family farm are not the same as those of a hospital, a manufacturing plant or a small business," he said. "Congress must pursue flexible policies that allow businesses to adopt AI in ways that best suit their industry and workforce." JagWire has the full recap of the hearing and the Augusta Chronicle, Innovation & Entrepreneurs News and Traders Union also covered the field hearing. Augusta University experts in artificial intelligence, healthcare innovation and workforce development are available for interviews. If you're covering similar stories, reach out to schedule time.

Aug 17, 2026

2 min

The Real Risk of AI in the Classroom Isn't the Tool, It's the Shortcut

Artificial intelligence has moved from novelty to daily habit in classrooms across the country, and the debate over what that means for learning shows no sign of slowing down. Some schools have built AI into their curriculum. Others have banned it outright. Caught in the middle are students trying to figure out where the technology actually helps and where it quietly gets in the way. Trent Kays, PhD, an assistant professor and Director of Professional Writing and Rhetoric at Augusta University, has spent time researching exactly that question, and he recently sat down with FOX54 News to talk through what he's seeing firsthand. Kays, who also serves as a faculty affiliate in Women's and Gender Studies and specializes in digital rhetoric and machine writing, says students are already using AI for far more than quick homework help, from brainstorming and studying to building out entire lesson plans on their own. The bigger concern, according to Kays, isn't misuse in the obvious sense. It's what he calls cognitive offloading, students handing the thinking itself over to the machine. "Students are essentially using AI to do their thinking for them, which is not something that they should do," he said. It's part of why he keeps AI out of his first- and second-year courses entirely: those early classes are where students build the critical thinking skills they'll need before a tool can actually help. "They have to be able to think critically first before they can ask a tool to help them." Accuracy is its own problem. AI tools have gotten sharper, but Kays points out they still fabricate information regularly, including sources that were never real to begin with, something students are far less likely to catch than an instructor who actually reads the citations. None of this means Kays thinks AI belongs outside the classroom. He describes it as a potential process partner, something that can push a student's thinking further rather than replace it, as long as the structure around it is clear. As he put it, what schools need now is to "craft clear guidelines and structures for students to follow so that they know how to use it and how to use it well." Read the full interview and FOX54's coverage here: AI in the Classroom: Augusta University Professor Explains the Benefits and Risks Dr. Trent Kays is available for interviews on AI in education, digital rhetoric, and responsible AI use in academic settings. If you're covering similar stories, click on this icon to schedule time with him.

Jul 9, 2026

1 min

Augusta University's Simon Medcalfe on the Real Economics of Hosting the World Cup

With the World Cup underway across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Dr. Simon Medcalfe, economist at Augusta University's Hull College of Business, wrote for Augusta Business Daily about why FIFA's headline economic projections for the tournament don't hold up. His piece breaks down why most of the spending tied to hosting the event isn't new activity but rather it's money that would have been spent elsewhere regardless. As Medcalfe put it: "New spending is not created; it is just moved around." Read his full column in Augusta Business Daily : Dr. Medcalfe is a Professor of Economics and Finance at Augusta University, with research spanning sports economics, community and economic development, and social determinants of health. He holds a PhD in Business/Managerial Economics from Lehigh University. If you're covering the economics of hosting major sporting events, public subsidies for host cities, or the gap between projected and actual tourism impact, Dr. Medcalfe is available for comment. Click on the contact button in his profile below.