Mercer University

Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 students in 12 colleges and schools: liberal arts and sciences, business, engineering, education, music, college of professional advancement, law, theology, medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and health professions. Mercer is a member of the Georgia Research Alliance and has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest collegiate honors society.

Mercer has four major campuses: the historic (main) campus in Macon, a graduate and professional campus in Atlanta, and four-year campuses of the School of Medicine in Savannah and Columbus. Mercer also has regional academic centers in Henry County and Douglas County; the Mercer University School of Law on its own campus in Macon; teaching hospitals in Macon, Savannah, and Columbus; a university press and a performing arts center, the Grand Opera House, in Macon; and the Mercer Engineering Research Center in Warner Robins. The Mercer University Health Sciences Center encompasses Mercer's medical, pharmacy, nursing, and health professions programs in Macon, Atlanta, Savannah, and Columbus.

'' U.S. News & World Report'' has ranked Mercer among the top two private universities in Georgia for approximately 25 years. Overall, ''U.S. News & World Report'' (2021 edition) ranks Mercer 160th among the 389 National Universities, 49th in terms of undergraduate teaching; and 35th best value in terms of education relative to cost; Mercer is the 6th highest ranked private research University in the South. Mercer has been cited by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for its community engagement and was among the 113 institutions listed on the 2015 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction. Princeton Review has ranked Mercer as one of the best colleges in the nation for 18 years. Mercer is classified as a "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Mercer University alumni include 21 United States Representatives, 12 Governors, four United States Senators, two Pulitzer Prize winners, two Rhodes Scholars and a U.S. Attorney General.

Mercer has an NCAA Division I athletic program and fields teams in eight men's and ten women's sports; all university-sponsored sports compete in the Southern Conference except women's sand volleyball, which is not sponsored by the SoCon, and thus competes in the ASUN Conference.

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History

Founding and early years (1833–1959)

Mercer University was founded in Penfield, Georgia, as a boys' preparatory school under Billington McCarter Sanders, a professor who served as the first president, and Adiel Sherwood, a Baptist minister who previously founded a boys' manual labor school that served as a model. The school opened as Mercer Institute with 39 students on January 14, 1833. The school was named for Jesse Mercer, a prominent Baptist leader who provided a founding endowment and who served as the first chairman of the board of trustees. The Georgia General Assembly granted a university charter in December 1837. Mercer adopted its present name in 1838 and graduated its first university class, of three students, in 1841. In 1871, Mercer moved to Macon, a center of transportation and commerce in Georgia.

The School of Law was established in 1873 and was named the Walter F. George School of Law in 1947 in honor of Mercer alumnus Walter F. George, class of 1901, who served as a United States senator from Georgia and as President ''pro tempore'' of the United States Senate.

During World War II, Mercer was one of 131 colleges and universities in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which offered military training that prepared students for a commission in the United States Navy.

Expansion (1959–2013)

Mercer expanded to Atlanta in 1959 when the university absorbed the independent Southern School of Pharmacy. The College of Liberal Arts, the School of Law, and the Southern School of Pharmacy comprised the university until 1972 when Mercer merged with Atlanta Baptist College, which became Mercer's Atlanta campus.

Atlanta Baptist College was founded in 1968 under the leadership of Dr. Monroe F. Swilley, a prominent Baptist educator. The college merged with Mercer in 1972 and became the College of Arts and Sciences, and in 1984 was named the Cecil B. Day College of Arts and Sciences. Mercer offered undergraduate liberal arts education in Atlanta until 1990 when the college closed. Faculty and students tried to prevent the closure, but were not successful. The mission of the Atlanta campus changed to graduate and professional education. The Southern School of Pharmacy moved in 1992 from its downtown location to the Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus.

Between 1982 and 2013, Mercer established nine additional colleges and schools: the School of Medicine in 1982, the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics in 1984, the School of Engineering in 1985, the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology in 1994, the Tift College of Education in 1995, the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing in 2001, the College of Continuing and Professional Studies in 2003 (renamed Penfield College of Mercer University in 2014), the Townsend School of Music in 2006, and the College of Health Professions in 2013. Mercer opened its second four-year medical school in Savannah in 2008 and the multi-campus Mercer University Health Sciences Center in 2012.

Mercer received a $5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2009 to support continued revitalization of the College Hill Corridor between campus and downtown Macon. The Mercer On Mission service-learning program, launched in 2007, has been recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative as "an exemplary approach to addressing a specific global challenge." It helps students combine research, study abroad and service-learning under faculty direction.

The multi-campus Mercer University Health Sciences Center, which incorporates programs offered by the School of Medicine, the College of Pharmacy, the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, and the new College of Health Professions, opened in 2013. The College of Health Professions, authorized by the board of trustees in 2012, is Mercer's twelfth academic unit. Mercer purchased the former Georgia Music Hall of Fame building in downtown Macon in 2012; the extensively renovated building reopened in 2014 as the home of Mercer Medicine, a multi-specialty physician clinic and a division of the School of Medicine.

Mercer opened a large retail-residential center on the Macon campus in 2011. The center, called Mercer Lofts, houses the Barnes & Noble operated university bookstore, other shops, and student apartments. Mercer Lofts II, a mixed-use development adjacent to Phase I, opened in 2012; the facility houses Mercer's Center for Collaborative Journalism, which consists of the university's journalism department and the editorial-professional staffs of the Macon Telegraph and Georgia Public Broadcasting (on the first floor) along with student apartments (on upper floors). Also in 2012, the university opened a new admissions and welcome center on the Macon campus; the center is named for Emily Parker Myers, a long-time university administrator, and is the university's first LEED certified building. In 2013, Mercer completed Cruz Plaza, a major landscaping project for the Macon campus central quadrangle linking the University Center (Hawkins Arena), Tarver Library, and Connell Student Center.

Desegregation

Mercer University was the first college or university in Georgia to fully desegregate. In April 18, 1963, the Board of Trustees voted 13 to 5, with 3 abstentions, to ratify the policy that "Mercer University considers all applications based on qualification, without consideration of race, color of skin, creed, or origin.". This policy change allowed Sam Oni, a twenty-two-year-old student from Ghana, to become the first Black student to attend Mercer University. Sam Oni, knowingly and intentionally, in part applied to Mercer for the purpose of helping to end racial segregation in the United States. As Sam Oni phrased it "My role, as we conceived it was by breaking the color bar at Mercer, I would be challenging our Southern Baptist brothers and sisters in America to confront gross contradictions in the Christian witness at home and abroad." Sam Oni succeeded despite pressure from segregationist in both the South and the Southern Baptists to keep Mercer racially segregated, including an airplane flying a banner that read "Keep Mercer Segregated" as the Board of Trustees successfully voted to fully integrate.

Religious affiliation

In 2006, the Georgia Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention) terminated its affiliation with it due to the presence of a gay association on campus and its support of other Baptist organizations. Before the affiliation ended, Mercer had an independent board of trustees; the convention provided financial support but did not control the university. The lack of control caused friction, with Mercer resisting restraints on social issues while the convention saw Mercer as becoming secularized and not conforming to its values.

2014–present

On October 31, 2014, Mercer announced an effort to raise $400 million, including $207 million for its endowment, $109 million for capital projects, and $84 million for operations. By its public launch, $90 million in gifts and pledges had been collected. The campaign aims to fund a $15 million medical education facility in Savannah, ground was broken on October 14, 2014; a $25 million undergraduate sciences facility in Macon; a $20 million health sciences building in Atlanta; a $3 million baseball stadium in Macon; additional endowment for faculty positions, academic programs and student scholarships; funding for programs and initiatives such as Mercer On Mission; and additional support throughout the university's 12 schools and colleges, Mercer University Press, the university libraries, athletic department, and other administrative units.

In athletics, Mercer has added programs in men's lacrosse, sand volleyball, and football; constructed a new football and lacrosse complex, named Five Star Stadium (10,200 seats); and changed affiliation to the Southern Conference. In 2014, Mercer set an enrollment record in the fall of 2014 with a university-wide population of 8,557 students. The larger student body reflects expanded academic programs including five new doctoral degrees: Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction, Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Medical Psychology. Mercer opened its second four-year medical school, in Savannah, in 2008.

Mercer opened Mercer Lofts III in 2014; the facility is a large student-housing complex on College Street next to Tattnall Square Park and the university's historic north quadrangle. Also in 2014, Mercer completed an extensive renovation of the historic Amanda Bell House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the building houses the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings of the Townsend School of Music and is one of the finest conservatory facilities in the nation. Mercer's television station, WMUB (Mercer University Broadcasting), opened a new studio in Mercer Village in 2014 as a part of the university's Center for Collaborative Journalism.

The M. Diane Owens Garden, named for the first female chair of Mercer's board of trustees, a large environmentally friendly fountain and garden area near Five Star Stadium, was dedicated in 2014. The garden complements Cruz Plaza, completed in 2013, as a major landscaping project beautifying the Macon campus.

Mercer Lofts IV, known as the Lofts at College Hill, opened in 2015; the housing-retail complex is designed for graduate and professional students and is located adjacent to Macon's main post office between College Street and Interstate 75, near the Walter F. George School of Law. Mercer's Tattnall Square Center for the Arts also opened in 2015; the center is the former Tattnall Square Presbyterian Church, near the historic north quadrangle, and now houses the university theater department and is a community performing arts center.

Mercer Lofts V, known as the Lofts at Mercer Landing, opened in 2016 adjacent to Five Star Stadium near the Mercer University Drive exit from Interstate 75; a new campus entrance and a pedestrian bridge connecting the campus and the complex are also complete. The facility provides student housing, university offices, and a large parking garage; retail-food facilities and a second on-campus hotel, operated by Marriott TownePlace Suites, are a part of the complex as well, located directly across Mercer University Drive from the university's Hilton Garden Inn.

Mercer's other construction projects in recent years include renovation and expansion of the School of Medicine facility in Savannah (completed 2016), a new undergraduate residence hall in Macon named Legacy Hall (completed 2016), and a renovated and enlarged baseball facility named OrthoGeorgia Park at Claude Smith Field (completed 2017).

Mercer's Board of Trustees on April 20, 2018, approved a new strategic plan that succeeds the 2008 plan, which saw the institution reclassified as a national research university, admitted to the Georgia Research Alliance, granted a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, growth of 41 percent in undergraduate enrollment, a near doubling of research expenditures, investment of more than $200 million in new facilities, and an increase of endowment to more than $300 million. The 2018 strategic plan, titled ''Inspire: Mercer's Vision for the Decade Ahead'', has seven imperatives: be an intimate and diverse community of gifted scholars committed to changing the world; be a place of discovery and innovation; be a global university; be relevant; achieve meaningful outcomes; compete with the best, and be true to its heritage.

Mercer has launched second and third medical school campuses (in Savannah and Columbus), started a master's-level physician assistant program and a doctoral-level program in physical therapy, and added doctoral programs in clinical psychology, nursing, counseling, educational leadership, and curriculum and instruction. Reflecting an increased emphasis on research, Mercer meets criteria established by the Carnegie Foundation for classification as a research-doctoral university; the number of doctoral students has increased from fewer than 35 to more than 250. In addition, annual externally funded research expenditures now exceed $36 million due to increased funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Georgia Research Alliance; plus new funding as eminent cancer scientists by the Georgia Cancer Coalition.

Mercer students have earned national recognition and prestigious Fulbright, Goldwater, Teach For America and Peace Corps scholarships and appointments; , two of the last three recipients of the Gulf South Summit Award for Outstanding Student Contributions to Service-Learning have been Mercer students and Mercer ranks among the top three institutions in the Southeast for placement of Peace Corps volunteers among colleges and universities with fewer than 5,000 undergraduate students.

The University dedicated in April 2018 the new $44 millio
Godsey Science Center
The largest academic facility project in the university's history, the science center includes 60 teaching and research labs, three medium classrooms (75 to 100 students each), four small classrooms (32 students each) and 46 offices for Mercer's biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and neuroscience programs.

Mercer began construction on Phase II of the Mercer Landing development in early 2018. The project, located adjacent to the residential loft complex completed in 2016, will provide more student housing and more parking for the complex and for Five Star Stadium, which is located across Mercer University Drive.

Presidents

* Billington McCarter Sanders (1833–1840)
* Otis Smith (1840–1844)
* John Leadley Dagg (1844–1854)
* Nathaniel Macon Crawford(1854–1856)
* Shelton Palmer Sanford (acting President; 1856–1858)
* Nathaniel Macon Crawford (1858–1866)
* Henry Holcombe Tucker (1866–1871)
* Archibald John Battle (1872–1889)
* Gustavus Alonzo Nunnally (1889–1893)
* Joseph Edgerton Willet (acting President; 1893)
* James Bruton Gambrell (1893–1896)
* Pinckney Daniel Pollock (1896–1903)
* William Heard Kilpatrick (acting President; 1903–1905)
* Charles Lee Smith (1905–1906)
* Samuel Young Jameson (1906–1913)
* James Freeman Sellers (acting President; 1913–1914)
* William Lowndes Pickard (1914–1918)
* Rufus Washington Weaver (1918–1927)
* Andrew Phillip Montague (acting President; 1927–1928)
* Spright Dowell (1928–1953)
* George Boyce Connell (1953–1959)
* Spright Dowell (interim President; 1959–1960)
* Rufus Carrollton Harris (1960–1979)
* Raleigh Kirby Godsey (1979–2006)
* William D. Underwood (2006–present)

Campuses and buildings

Macon campus

The main campus of Mercer University is in Macon, approximately south of Atlanta. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Stetson-Hatcher School of Business, the Tift College of Education, the Townsend School of Music, the School of Engineering, the School of Medicine, and programs of the College of Professional Advancement are located on the Macon campus. The R. Kirby Godsey Administration Building, the W. G. Lee Alumni House, and the Emily Parker Myers Admissions and Welcome Center (listed as R. J. Anderson House) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also listed are the Amanda Bell House (listed as Lassiter House), which houses the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings of the Townsend School of Music, located on College Street one mile (1.6 km) from the main campus, and the Grand Opera House, a county-owned performing arts center operated by Mercer.

The Macon campus is home to the Office of International Programs, which offers exchange partnerships between Macon and universities in countries such as England, Scotland, Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, Morocco, Argentina, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Law school campus (Macon)

The Mercer University School of Law is located on its own campus in Macon, one mile (1.6 km) from the main campus. The Law School building is a three-story partial replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia and is located on Coleman Hill overlooking downtown Macon. Adjacent to the Law School is the university-owned Woodruff House, a Greek revival-style mansion built in 1836 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which is used for university special events. The Law School building and the Woodruff House are two of Macon's most recognizable sites.

Atlanta campus

The Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus of Mercer University is in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately two miles (3.2 km) south of the interchange of Interstate 85 and Interstate 285 in the Northlake area of DeKalb County. The College of Professional Advancement, the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology, the College of Pharmacy, the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, and programs of the Stetson-Hatcher School of Business (BBA, MBA and Executive MBA programs), the Tift College of Education (Master's and PhD programs), and the School of Medicine (Master's program) are located here. Mercer's Atlanta campus was formerly the home of Atlanta Baptist College until it merged with Mercer in 1972. The campus is named for Cecil B. Day, founder of Days Inn Hotels who attended Mercer before leaving to serve in the United States Marine Corps.

Mercer enlarged the Atlanta campus in 2004 by acquiring the former headquarters of the Georgia Baptist Convention, which constructed a new headquarters in Gwinnett County. The former headquarters building, renamed the Mercer University Conference and Administration Center, is occupied by the American Baptist Historical Society and the Baptist History and Heritage Society.

The current headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Atlanta Field Office is on the grounds of Mercer Atlanta Campus and opened in 2017.

Savannah campus

Mercer opened a new four-year medical school in Savannah in August 2008. The campus is a branch of the School of Medicine in Macon and is located at Memorial University Medical Center, Mercer's teaching hospital in Savannah. The new medical school campus is the university's third major campus in addition to those in Macon and Atlanta.

The School of Medicine's new medical education and research facility at Memorial was dedicated in April 2016. The $18 million Savannah campus expansion, which began in October 2014 and was completed in December 2015, includes renovation of approximately 26,500 square feet of classrooms, offices, research labs and library space in the Hoskins Center, as well as construction of 30,000 square feet of new space for additional classrooms, exam rooms and study areas. This expansion allows for a 50-percent increase in M.D. student enrollment – from 160 to 240 students – in Savannah, equaling the number of M.D. students on the Macon campus.

Columbus campus

In February 2012, Mercer announced the establishment of a new campus in Columbus. The campus was the third for the School of Medicine, which has existing campuses in Macon and Savannah. The campus partnered with two regional hospitals, The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital, and beginning in the summer of 2012, offered clinical rotations for third and fourth year students. On September 3, 2020, the University broke ground for a new School of Medicine campus in Columbus to accommodate the expansion to a full four-year M.D. program. The initial cohort of first-year M.D. students began classes in August 2021 and the new campus was completed in December 2021.

Teaching hospitals

Mercer is affiliated with five teaching hospitals – Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center and Piedmont Medical Center in Macon; and Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus.

Regional academic centers

Mercer has regional academic centers in Henry County and Douglas County. The centers offer undergraduate and graduate degrees for working adults.

The Henry County Regional Academic Center opened in 2003. The facility combined programs previously offered at two smaller facilities in Covington and Griffin. The center is located in McDonough.

The Douglas County Regional Academic Center was named in 2007 in honor of Fred and Aileen Borrish, longtime Mercer benefactors and supporters of education in Douglas County. The center is located in Lithia Springs.

Mercer libraries

Mercer University has four libraries, which are organized as a separate division alongside the twelve colleges and schools. The Jack Tarver Library, located on the Macon campus, is the largest. The Medical Library and Peyton T. Anderson Resources Center, located in the School of Medicine, and the Furman Smith Law Library, located in the Walter F. George School of Law, are also in Macon. The Monroe F. Swilley, Jr. Library is on the Atlanta campus. Each library has a wide variety of print and non-print resources.

Academics

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, founded in 1833, is the heart of the university offering undergraduate degrees in the arts, humanities, communications, natural sciences, and social sciences. The college, with more than 110 full-time faculty members, offers dozens of majors, minors, and interdisciplinary programs, and the Great Books program allows students to study the classic writers and thinkers of the Western world. In 2011, the college's largest majors were biology and biochemistry, psychology, chemistry, English, and political science. The curricular program of the college is recognized for its focus on critical thinking, effective communication, problem-solving, and development of the whole person.

Stetson-Hatcher School of Business

The Stetson-Hatcher School of Business, founded in 1984, has the highest level of accreditation for business schools from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The school offers bachelor's degree (BBA) programs in Macon, Atlanta, and Douglas County, Evening MBA programs in Macon and Atlanta, Professional MBA programs in Henry County and Savannah, and an Executive MBA program in Atlanta.

The Mercer University Executive Forum, Georgia's premier business outreach program, is a part of the school. The program welcomes nationally known speakers who conduct management and leadership seminars in Macon and Atlanta. Speakers have included Lou Dobbs, Bob Dole, Steve Forbes, Lou Holtz, Jesse Jackson, Tom Ridge, George Tenet, George Will, Bob Woodward, and numerous other business, political, and social leaders.

School of Engineering

The School of Engineering, founded in 1985, is the only private engineering school in Georgia and one of only five engineering schools in the state; the others are Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Southern University, University of Georgia, and Kennesaw State University. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and is the primary provider of engineers for Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. The school is located on the Macon campus in a modern academic facility. Mercer dedicated a new $14 million Science and Engineering Building adjacent to the existing facility in 2007; the new building significantly expands the school's laboratory and classroom resources. Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC), an extension of the school located in a state-of-the-art facility in Warner Robins, directly supports Robins AFB and offers significant research opportunities for students and faculty. In addition, the school's National Engineering Advisory Board, composed of some of the nation's most respected corporate leaders including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and Georgia Pacific, provides premier research and career opportunities for students.

The School of Engineering and Robins Air Force Base maintain an educational partnership that provides on-base internships and other learning opportunities for aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering students. The partnership is separate from the Mercer Engineering and Research Center, which is located near the base in Warner Robins. The educational partnership is one of two maintained by Mercer University, the other involves the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, the School of Medicine, and Piedmont Healthcare of Atlanta.

The Clinton Global Initiative University, a program of the William J. Clinton Foundation, recognized Mercer University in 2009 for its Mercer On Mission project, which provides amputees in developing nations with low-cost prosthetics. The prosthetics use a universal socket technology developed by School of Engineering faculty and students. Mercer On Mission was one of only three university projects recognized by former President Bill Clinton at the CGI University annual conference.

Tift College of Education

The Tift College of Education, founded in 1995 as the School of Education, has the highest level of accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and is the largest private provider of teachers in Georgia. The college was named in 2001 to honor the legacy of Tift College, a Baptist women's college in Forsyth. Tift College, founded in 1849, merged with Mercer in 1986 and was closed. Mercer adopted its alumnae and maintains their records.

The Tift College of Education offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs on the Macon and Atlanta campuses and at the university's regional academic centers. The college offers three Doctor of Philosophy degrees: P–12 School Leadership, Higher Education Leadership, and Curriculum and Instruction.

Townsend School of Music

The Townsend School of Music opened on July 1, 2006. Mercer trustee Carolyn McAfee, wife of James T. McAfee, Jr., former chairman of Mercer's board of trustees, and her son and daughter-in-law, Tom McAfee and his wife Julie, provided the founding endowment. The school, named in honor of Mrs. McAfee's parents, Raymond and Sophia Townsend, is housed in the Allan and Rosemary McCorkle Music Building, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2001 on the Macon campus. The Townsend School of Music offers undergraduate and graduate music degrees formerly offered by the College of Liberal Arts.

The Townsend-McAfee Institute, established in 2005, is a collaboration between the Townsend School of Music and the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology offering graduate programs in church music that prepare musical artists for the ministry. The institute, located on the Macon campus with the School of Music, is preparing a new hymnal for Baptists and other Christian fellowships. Slated for release in 2009, the 400th anniversary of Baptists, the project demonstrates Mercer's commitment to its church-related heritage and connects with the university's namesake, Jesse Mercer, who authored ''Cluster of Spiritual Songs'', a hymnal first published circa 1800 with 11 subsequent editions.

The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings offers conservatory-quality music training in a comprehensive university setting. McDuffie is an internationally renowned violinist who has served as Distinguished University Professor of Music since 2004. The focus of the center, housed in the School of Music on the Macon campus, is to provide highly talented string students the opportunity to learn with some of the nation's most renowned string musicians. Total enrollment is limited to 26 students: 12 violinists, 6 violists, 6 cellists and 2 double bassists.

College of Professional Advancement (Continuing and Professional Studies)

The College of Professional Advancement, formerly Penfield College of Mercer University, was founded in 2003 as the College of Continuing and Professional Studies and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees for working adults. Courses are offered on the Macon and Atlanta campuses and at the regional academic centers in Henry County, Douglas County, and Newnan. The college was named on July 1, 2014, to honor the legacy of Mercer's original location in Penfield, Georgia and to better reflect the college's breadth of academic offerings from certificate programs to doctoral-level degrees. Mercer maintains a portion of the original Penfield campus including historic Old Mercer Chapel and the gravesite of university founder Jesse Mercer.

The Public Safety Leadership Institute on the Atlanta campus offers educational programs for law enforcement and other public safety officials. The curriculum focuses on organizational leadership, liberal studies, and human resources administration within governmental organizations in the rapidly changing post 9/11 world. The institute has been endorsed by numerous law enforcement organizations.

The college's graduate-level programs include master's degrees in public safety, organizational leadership, school counseling, and clinical mental health counseling as well as an Educational Specialist degree in school counseling and a Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision. In 2013, the college began offering graduate programs in human services and rehabilitation counseling.

School of Law

The Mercer University School of Law, founded in 1873, is one of the oldest law schools in the United States. The school was formerly named Walter F. George School of Law after Walter F. George, Mercer Law Class of 1901, who was a long-time United States Senator and was President pro tempore of the Senate. The School of Law offers the Juris Doctor (JD) degree and a joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA) in conjunction with the university's Stetson-Hatcher School of Business.

James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology

The James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology, founded in 1994, offers graduate theological programs and is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. McAfee's curriculum is not directed by the Georgia Baptist Convention or Southern Baptist Convention. The school, located on the Atlanta campus, is named for James T. McAfee, Jr., former chairman of Mercer's board of trustees, and his wife Carolyn. The McAfees provided a founding endowment.

The McAfee School of Theology and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are "identity partners"; announced in 2006, the CBF provides funding for operating costs, scholarships, and collaborative projects. The designation, which grants the highest level of CBF funding, is held by four theology schools, the McAfee School of Theology, the George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, the Divinity School at Campbell University, and the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.

The American Baptist Historical Society (ABHS), with the largest and most diverse collection of Baptist historical materials and archives in the world, is located on the Atlanta campus. The ABHS moved to Atlanta in 2008 from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and Rochester, New York. The organization is housed in the Mercer University Administration and Conference Center, formerly occupied by the Georgia Baptist Convention. The ABHS provides research opportunities for Baptist scholars and positions Mercer and the McAfee School of Theology as a national center of Baptist scholarship.

The Baptist History and Heritage Society (BHHS), founded in 1938 as the Southern Baptist Historical Society, relocated from Brentwood, Tennessee

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