Some Notable Mercer University Alumni
Mercer University has been preparing leaders who make a difference in their professions, their communities and the world since 1833. Here are some of Mercer’s more notable alumni:
Judge Griffin B. Bell, LAW ’48, HON ’67, served as the 72nd Attorney General of the United States.
Steve Berry, LAW ’80, is a popular best-selling author of historical fiction thrillers, including The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy and The Third Secret.
Judge William Augustus “Gus” Bootle, CLA ’25, LAW ’25, HON ’82, ordered the first admission of an African American to the University of Georgia in 1961. The federal courthouse in Macon is named in his honor.
David H. Bottoms, CLA ’71, is an award-winning poet and the official Poet Laureate for the state of Georgia.
Cathy Cox, LAW ’86, HON '07, became the first woman to be elected to the office of Secretary of State for Georgia. After leaving public office in 2007, she became the 21st president of Young Harris College in north Georgia.
Nancy Grace, CLA ’81, LAW ’84, is host of the popular legal analysis program on Headline News called Nancy Grace. She previously served as an anchor for Court TV network and legal commentator and guest host for CNN’s Larry King Live.
Judges M. Yvette Miller, CLA ’77, LAW ’80, and Hugh Thompson, LAW ’69, are members of the Georgia Court of Appeals. Miller is the first African-American female on the court.
Sam Mitchell, CLA ’93, is head coach of the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors and was named the National Basketball Association Coach of the Year for 2007.
Reg Murphy, CLA ’55, is the former president of the National Geographic Society, publisher of The Baltimore Sun, editor and publisher of The San Francisco Examiner, and editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
John Oxendine, CLA '84, LAW '87, serves as Insurance Commissioner for the state of Georgia.
Ferrol Sams, M.D., CLA ’42, is the author of the best-selling coming-of-age novel, Run with the Horsemen. In his sequel book, Whisper of the River, he writes about his days at Mercer through the eyes of his main character, Porter Osborne, at Willingham University.
Corbett H. Thigpen, M.D., was a psychiatrist whose book about one of his patients with multiple personalities was later made into the movie, The Three Faces of Eve.
Carl Vinson, LAW 1902, who served in the United States House of Representatives for 50 years, has been called the “patriarch of the armed services” and the “father of the two-ocean navy.”