Local entrepreneur and business school alumnus Mason McKnight III and his wife Lou have been recognized with the Augusta University President’s Award for outstanding philanthropic support. President Brooks A. Keel, PhD, presented the award to the McKnights on May 4 during the President’s Spring Celebration, a special donor recognition event.

“One of my greatest honors each year is presenting the President’s Award to those who have made a remarkable impact on our institution,” Keel said. “It is my distinct pleasure to present the 2023 award to Mason and Lou McKnight, whose meaningful philanthropy has benefitted our baseball and softball programs, as well as the Medical College of Georgia and our Children’s Hospital of Georgia.”

Last year, the McKnights committed a $1 million gift toward Augusta University Athletics to help fund crucial facilities improvements at the ballfield complex outside Christenberry Fieldhouse. The softball field will bear the Mason McKnight III family name in recognition of this generosity. When a building was being constructed as the new home for the Medical College of Georgia, the McKnights gave a significant gift to the J. Harold Harrison, M.D., Education Commons on the Health Sciences Campus, and a 150-seat classroom on the first floor is named McKnight Family Hall in their honor.Mason owns ACC Construction, which he established in 1986, and Lou is a former teacher at National Hills Elementary School. They have three adult sons who work in the family business with their father.

Mason McKnight III, an AU alumnus, earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1980 from AU’s legacy institution Augusta College.

“We love watching Augusta University grow from where it was when I was in school to where it is now,” McKnight III said.