47 Facts About Mercer University

1.

Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia.

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2.

Mercer University is a member of the Georgia Research Alliance and has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest collegiate honors society.

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3.

Mercer University has four major campuses: the historic campus in Macon, a graduate and professional campus in Atlanta, and four-year campuses of the School of Medicine in Savannah and Columbus.

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4.

Mercer University 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.

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5.

Mercer University is classified as a "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

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6.

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.

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7.

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.

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8.

In 1871, Mercer University moved to Macon, a center of transportation and commerce in Georgia.

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9.

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.

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10.

Mercer University offered undergraduate liberal arts education in Atlanta until 1990 when the college closed.

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11.

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, the Townsend School of Music in 2006, and the College of Health Professions in 2013.

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12.

Mercer University 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 University Medicine, a multi-specialty physician clinic and a division of the School of Medicine.

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13.

Mercer University opened a large retail-residential center on the Macon campus in 2011.

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14.

In 2013, Mercer completed Cruz Plaza, a major landscaping project for the Macon campus central quadrangle linking the University Center, Tarver Library, and Connell Student Center.

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15.

Mercer University was the first college or university in Georgia to fully desegregate.

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16.

Mercer University, founded by early 19th-century Baptists, ended its affiliation with the Georgia Baptist Convention in 2006 after 173 years.

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17.

Mercer University opened its second four-year medical school, in Savannah, in 2008.

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18.

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.

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19.

Also in 2014, Mercer University 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.

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20.

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 complete.

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21.

Mercer University has launched second and third medical school campuses, 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.

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22.

Mercer University dedicated in April 2018 the new $44 million Godsey Science Center.

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23.

Mercer University began construction on Phase II of the Mercer University Landing development in early 2018.

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24.

Main campus of Mercer University is in Macon, approximately 75 miles south of Atlanta.

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25.

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.

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26.

Mercer University enlarged the Atlanta campus in 2004 by acquiring the former headquarters of the Georgia Baptist Convention, which constructed a new headquarters in Gwinnett County.

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27.

Mercer University opened a new four-year medical school in Savannah in August 2008.

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28.

In February 2012, Mercer University announced the establishment of a new campus in Columbus.

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29.

Mercer University has regional academic centers in Henry County and Douglas County.

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30.

Mercer University has four libraries, which are organized as a separate division alongside the twelve colleges and schools.

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31.

Mercer University Executive Forum, Georgia's premier business outreach program, is a part of the school.

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32.

Mercer University 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.

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33.

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.

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34.

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.

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35.

Third and fourth year Mercer University students have completed clinical rotations at Memorial since 1996, approximately 100 residents are trained each year in a number of specialities.

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36.

In February 2012, Mercer University announced the establishment of a third School of Medicine campus.

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37.

Mercer University has operated the Grand since 1995 through a lease agreement with Bibb County.

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38.

Mercer University Press, established in 1979, is the only Baptist-related university press in the nation.

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39.

Mercer University established its first radio station as a physics class project in 1922.

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40.

Mercer University Cluster, commonly referred to as simply The Cluster, is a student-run, editorially-independent news organization for Mercer University's main Macon campus.

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41.

The duo from Mercer was the first team from the University and the state of Georgia to attend the NPTE, the most prestigious parliamentary debate tournament in the nation.

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42.

Mercer University teams won 21 Atlantic Sun championships: five baseball, six men's basketball, two women's basketball, five men's soccer, and one each in women's soccer, men's lacrosse, and men's golf.

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43.

Mercer University opened the Tony and Nancy Moye Football and Lacrosse Complex in 2013.

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44.

Reinstatement came after a 70-year hiatus; Mercer University suspended football during World War II and did not revive it.

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45.

In 2007, Mercer University was one of 141 colleges and universities selected for the first President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll; the honor roll is sponsored by several agencies including the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to recognize support for community service.

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46.

In 2005, Mercer University was one of 81 institutions of higher education named a "College with a Conscience" by the Princeton Review and College Compact.

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47.

Mercer University is the only college in Georgia, and one of just 119 in the United States, to be selected by the foundation for its 2008 Community Engagement Classification.

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