Mercer University
On the 14th of January 1833, thirty-nine boys gathered in Penfield, Georgia to open the Mercer Institute. Billington McCarter Sanders served as the first president of this new preparatory school. Adiel Sherwood, a Baptist minister who had previously founded a manual labor school, helped establish the institution. Jesse Mercer, a prominent Baptist leader, provided the founding endowment alongside Josiah Penfield. The Georgia General Assembly granted a university charter in December 1837. Mercer adopted its present name in 1838 and graduated its first class of three students in 1841. In 1871, the school moved to Macon, a center of transportation and commerce in Georgia. The School of Law was established in 1873 and later named the Walter F. George School of Law in 1947. During World War II, Mercer participated in the V-12 Navy College Training Program as one of 131 colleges offering military training.
Mercer expanded to Atlanta in 1959 when it absorbed the independent Southern School of Pharmacy. The college merged with Atlanta Baptist College in 1972, which became Mercer's Atlanta campus. Dr. Monroe F. Swilley led Atlanta Baptist College before its merger. Between 1982 and 2013, Mercer established nine additional colleges including the School of Medicine in 1982 and the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics in 1984. The university opened its second four-year medical school in Savannah in 2008. A multi-campus Health Sciences Center incorporating programs from multiple schools opened in 2013. Mercer received a $5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2009 for revitalization efforts. The university opened Mercer Lofts, a retail-residential center, on the Macon campus in 2011. In 2014, Mercer completed an extensive renovation of the historic Amanda Bell House to house the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings. The M. Diane Owens Garden was dedicated in April 2018 near Five Star Stadium.
On the 18th of April 1963, the board of trustees voted thirteen to five to ratify a policy considering all applications without regard to race or color. This decision made Mercer University the first college or university in Georgia to fully desegregate. Sam Oni, a twenty-two-year-old student from Ghana, became the first Black student to attend the institution. Oni intentionally applied to Mercer to help end racial segregation in the United States. He stated that his role involved breaking the color bar to challenge Southern Baptist brothers and sisters to confront contradictions in Christian witness. Segregationists flew an airplane banner reading Keep Mercer Segregated during the integration process. Despite pressure from both the South and the Southern Baptist Convention, the board successfully voted to integrate the university. Samaria Mitcham Bailey later became one of the first African-American female students at Mercer.
In 2006, the Georgia Baptist Convention ended its affiliation with Mercer after 173 years of connection. Before the separation, the convention provided financial support but did not control the university. Friction developed as Mercer resisted restraints on social issues while the convention viewed the university as becoming secularized. The convention reportedly complained about the presence of a pro-gay student group and support for non-Southern Baptist organizations. Mercer is now affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a more liberal group of Baptists. The denomination's official records are stored at Mercer University. The university serves as a partner with this denomination. The American Baptist Historical Society moved to Atlanta in 2008 and houses its largest collection of Baptist historical materials there. The Baptist History and Heritage Society relocated to the Atlanta campus in 2007.
Mercer enrolls more than 9,000 students across twelve colleges and schools. The institution is classified as an R2 Doctoral Universities High research activity by the Carnegie Foundation. Annual externally funded research expenditures exceed $36 million due to funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Georgia Research Alliance. The number of doctoral students increased from fewer than 35 to more than 250. The School of Engineering is the only private engineering school in Georgia. The Mercer Engineering Research Center provides research opportunities near Robins Air Force Base. In 2018, the university dedicated the $44 million Godsey Science Center containing sixty teaching and research labs. Phi Beta Kappa chartered a chapter at Mercer in 2015. Students have earned Fulbright, Goldwater, Teach For America, and Peace Corps scholarships. Two of the last three recipients of the Gulf South Summit Award for Outstanding Student Contributions to Service-Learning were Mercer students.
Mercer fields eighteen teams known as the Bears on the NCAA Division I level. Men's basketball defeated Duke University in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014. The team finished with a twenty-seven to nine record that season. Mercer received the 2014 Espy Award for Best Upset following this victory. The Tony and Nancy Moye Football and Lacrosse Complex opened in 2013 with ten thousand two hundred seats. Five Star Stadium was named in February 2015 after a multimillion-dollar commitment by Five Star Automotive Group. Mercer played its first football game in seventy-two years on the 31st of August 2013 against Reinhardt University before twelve thousand one hundred seventy-two spectators. The student newspaper The Cluster began publication in 1920 and transitioned to digital-only format in 2022. WMUM-FM radio station provides local content from its broadcast studio on the Macon campus since 2006. The Grand Opera House has been operated by Mercer through a lease agreement with Bibb County since 1995.
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Common questions
When was Mercer University founded and where did it open?
Mercer University opened on the 14th of January 1833 in Penfield, Georgia. The institution began as the Mercer Institute with thirty-nine boys under the leadership of Billington McCarter Sanders.
Who were the founders of Mercer University and what role did they play?
Jesse Mercer provided the founding endowment alongside Josiah Penfield to establish the school. Adiel Sherwood helped create the institution while serving as a Baptist minister who previously founded a manual labor school.
Why is Sam Oni significant to the history of Mercer University?
Sam Oni became the first Black student to attend Mercer University after the board voted to desegregate on the 18th of April 1963. He intentionally applied to the university to help end racial segregation in the United States.
What happened to the relationship between Mercer University and the Georgia Baptist Convention?
The Georgia Baptist Convention ended its affiliation with Mercer University in 2006 after 173 years of connection. Friction developed over social issues and the university's resistance to restraints on those matters.
How many students does Mercer University currently enroll and how are they distributed?
Mercer University enrolls more than 9,000 students across twelve colleges and schools. The institution holds an R2 Doctoral Universities High research activity classification from the Carnegie Foundation.