Mercer University was founded in 1833 in Penfield by Georgia Baptists. The school, under the leadership of Baptist minister and spiritual father Adiel Sherwood, was named for Jesse Mercer, a prominent Baptist leader and the first chair of the Mercer Board of Trustees.
Josiah Penfield gave the $2,500 that prompted the Georgia Baptist Convention to begin plans to open a school. Many Georgia Baptists gave matching funds for Penfield’s gift. The school opened under principal Billington Sanders.
Initially a male preparatory school named “Mercer Institute,” the school at its founding consisted of a red clay farm and two hewed log cabins, valued at approximately $1,935. Enrollment for the first term was 39 students. When the school opened, there were considerably fewer and others came over the first few weeks. Tuition was $35 for the year. Board was provided at $8 per month, and each student was required to supply his own bedding, candles and furniture.
From its humble beginnings in Penfield, Mercer today is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has more than 8,700 students; 12 schools and colleges – liberal arts and sciences, law, pharmacy, medicine, health professions, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and professional advancement; campuses in Macon, Atlanta, Savannah and Columbus; two regional academic centers in the state; a university press; five teaching hospitals; an educational partnership with Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program.
The institution’s reputation for exceptional academics in an engaged learning environment continues to grow. In 2018 the University was reclassified as a doctoral university with high research activity (R2) and is ranked in the top tier of national universities by U.S. News & World Report. Mercer has also earned a Community Engagement classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is one of only 286 institutions in the country to shelter a chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society.