Mercer University

Mercer University is a private research university located in Macon, Georgia, with additional campuses in Atlanta, Savannah, and Columbus. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest private university in Georgia. Mercer offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees across 12 colleges and schools, including programs in law, medicine, business, engineering, theology, and the liberal arts. The university is classified among doctoral universities with high research activity and maintains affiliations with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Students are drawn to Mercer for its combination of liberal arts education, professional programs, and opportunities for research and community engagement across multiple campuses in Georgia.

Mercer University was founded in 1833 in Penfield, Georgia, as Mercer Institute, a Baptist preparatory school established by Georgia Baptists and named for Baptist leader Jesse Mercer. The school opened on January 14, 1833, under the leadership of Billington McCarthy Sanders, who later became the first president in 1838 after the institution received its university charter in 1837. Mercer University moved to Macon in 1871 to accommodate growth and expand its academic offerings. Over time, the university added professional schools, including the School of Law in 1873 and the School of Medicine in 1982. During the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Mercer University expanded with campuses in Atlanta, Savannah, and Columbus, strengthened research initiatives, and developed new facilities, shaping its evolution into a comprehensive private research university in Georgia.