Dr. Karen (D’Ambrogi) Aubrey

Dr. Karen Aubrey has served as vice president for academic affairs and as a professor at LaGrange College since January 2017. She has 30 years of experience in higher education, working since 2007 in administrative leadership positions. Her extensive academic and administrative experience includes such areas as curriculum development, experiential learning, outreach, shared governance, and resource management. Much of her work at LaGrange was directed at creating infrastructure, launching innovative programs in support of high impact practices and market demand, expanding faculty development support, and developing internal and external partnerships. Additionally, she has extensive experience in accreditation procedures through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), including serving as a SACSCOC reviewer and presenter at annual meetings.

Aubrey began her academic career as a graduate teaching assistant in 1985 at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she became an instructor in 1989. She was hired as an instructor at Augusta (Ga.) University in 1990, where she was promoted to assistant professor in 1993, associate professor in 1997 and served as a professor from 2010 to 2017. She taught courses ranging from core curriculum undergraduate surveys to graduate level seminars in the Department of Communication, Department of English and Foreign Languages, in campus Study Abroad Programs and in University System of Georgia European Council Programs.

She earned her Ph.D. in 18th Century British Literature in 1990 from the University of Southern Mississippi. She received her M.A. in English Literature in 1985 from the University of Central Arkansas, and her Bachelor of Science in Education in English, with a secondary teaching certification in English, in 1983 from the University of Central Arkansas (Conway).

Among her many accomplishments, Aubrey is most satisfied with her work in experiential learning. She was active at, and helped grow, Augusta University’s study abroad programs and administered LaGrange College’s Global Engagement program. Almost 90 percent of LaGrange students travel abroad, and wherever they go a service-learning activity is part of the program. For example, in South Africa students construct a greenhouse for a school in a township; and in Senegal, they deliver school supplies and interview and write about the story of the SEED Academy, a school for middle school and high school children that specializes in training gifted academics and athletes in basketball.

Aubrey is involved in her community, particularly with the Imperial Theatre, a historic nonprofit in downtown Augusta. She and her husband, Phillip D’Ambrogi, have worked with its director in finding grants for upkeep and extensive restoration. She is active in fundraising activities in the Augusta and Atlanta areas, and is a partner with Richmond County nonprofit organizations to cultivate student internships and build connections to the university.