Mercer’s fall enrollment increased by a healthy 5.2 percent over the fall of 2007, setting a record as the highest enrollment in Mercer’s history. Based on official 15th class day numbers, Mercer has enrolled a total of 7,573 students, shattering the previous record fall enrollment of 7,200, set in 2001 and tied last fall. The 599 entering freshmen on the Macon campus recorded 25th/75th percentile SAT scores of 1080/1290. It is the largest freshman class since 2005. [more]

Ticket Distribution Announced for Oct. 23 President Carter Lecture

The Second Annual President’s Lecture Series featuring former President Jimmy Carter as guest speaker will be held in the newly refurbished Willingham Auditorium on Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. Because of limited seating, Mercer faculty, staff and students will need to pick up tickets in advance to attend the lecture. [more]

Baptist Historical Society Dedicates Unified Collection On Atlanta Campus

ATLANTA – At dedication ceremonies for the American Baptist Samuel Colgate Historical Library and Archives on Mercer’s Atlanta campus Sept. 27, leaders praised the effort, collaboration, vision and commitment demonstrated in bringing the vast collections under one roof. [more]

Arts at Mercer Emphasize Breast Cancer Awareness with Community Events

The Townsend School of Music and Department of Art of the College of Liberal Arts are joining together this month to raise support and awareness for an important health issue, breast cancer. [more]

Macon Campus Kicks off United Way Campaign

Building on the success of last year’s drive, the University has set a new goal for this year’s United Way employee campaign in Macon, titled “Live United,” which began in September, and will run through Oct. 31. This year, the University has increased its goal for the campaign to $47,000 and more than 250 donors. Last year, the University set a goal of $35,000 and 150 donors and far exceeded it, with 227 Mercer employees contributing $46,498. [more]

John Patterson Appointed Vice President for University Development

MACON — On Sept. 17, President William D. Underwood announced the appointment of John A. Patterson as vice president for University development, effective Oct. 13. Patterson, currently senior vice president for development at Oklahoma Baptist University, served as executive director of development at Mercer until 1996, when he was named vice president at OBU, his alma mater. [more]

University Building on Excitement of the Election to Drive Student Voting

The University’s Macon campus is ramping up efforts to encourage Mercer students to vote in the historic Nov. 4 election. [more]

Historian and Author to Speak at China Research Center Event

ATLANTA — The China Research Center, based at Mercer’s Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, will inaugurate a new event series with a lecture by noted historian and author Kenneth Pomeranz, Ph.D., at 7 p.m., Oct. 15, in the Rich Auditorium at the High Museum in downtown Atlanta. He will discuss his recent work on China’s state, society and economy in a presentation titled “Chinese Development and World History: Putting the East Asian Model in Perspective.” The High Museum of Art is hosting the event in conjunction with its fall exhibition, The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army. [more]

Poll Shows Golden Rule Moves Southern Evangelicals Away From Torture

Results from a recent poll of Southern white evangelicals’ views on torture show that while evangelicals are more likely to hold a more extreme view than the general public, the results also show that when reminded of the teachings of Jesus, in particular the Golden Rule, their views can be changed. The poll, released on Sept. 11 at the National Summit on Torture on Mercer’s Atlanta campus, was commissioned by Faith in Public Life and Mercer and was conducted by Public Religion Research Inc. based on polling of 600 white evangelical Christians in the South. [more]

Mercer Hosts Conference To Examine Writing as a Practice for Wellness

ATLANTA – Mercer will host the second annual Wellness & Writing Connections Conference on the Atlanta campus Oct. 10-11. This year’s conference is built around the theme of writing as a practice for wellness. The event will feature presentations from a number of noted authors, including Margaret Edson, Pulitizer-Prize-winning author of “Wit,” and Luciano L’Abate, Ph.D., noted author of the “Handbook of Developmental Family Psychology and Psychopathology.” [more]

Speaker to Address Energy, Environmental Sustainability at Mercer

MACON — Kimberly A. Gray, Ph.D., an expert on natural and engineered environmental systems, will give the Third Annual Sigma Xi Distinguished Science Lecture at Mercer on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the auditorium of the Science and Engineering Building on the Macon campus. Dr. Gray will give a lecture titled “Energy and the Environment: The Central Challenge of Sustainability.” The will be a reception in the lobby preceding the lecture in the Science and Engineering Building at 6 p.m., sponsored by Mercer’s chapter of the honor... [more]

Homecoming Activities Adjusted Following Announcement of TV Broadcast

This year’s Homecoming promises to be one of the most exciting in Mercer history. Excitement for the Nov. 22 event has skyrocketed with the announcement by Fox Sports Net that the Homecoming basketball game will be televised at 1 p.m. from the University Center. Faculty and staff tickets were snatched up in less than three days and student tickets are also gone. Alumni tickets were made available online by securing a presale code through Terri Newham at newham_tl@mercer.edu or (478) 301-2943 or (800) 837-2911. Tickets for the general public will go on sale Oct. 20. They are available online, by calling... [more]

Top College Golf Teams in the Country Coming for the Brickyard Collegiate

Many of the premier college golf programs in the country will be headed to Macon to participate in the 2008 Brickyard Collegiate at the Brickyard at Riverside, Oct. 10-13. At this year’s event, Mercer -- as the host team -- will welcome many of the current top-ranked teams in the country including Georgia, Wake Forest, Duke, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State, Oregon, Penn State, Virginia Tech and many others. [more]

Dig for the Cure at Volleyball Match Among Events at Mercer Madness

One of the most popular student events each academic year, Mercer Madness, will be held this year on Friday, Oct. 17, at the University Center. The annual event serves as the official kick-off for the men’s and women’s basketball seasons. The celebration always includes an exciting array of events, including outside activities with food, live music and fireworks and indoor events involving students and the basketball teams. [more]

‘Sweeney Todd’ Highlights October Calendar at The Grand

Halloween comes early this year when the national tour of the revival, “Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” makes its Macon premiere at The Grand Opera House, Sunday, Oct. 12. Performances are scheduled for 4 and 7:30 p.m., and tickets range from $43 to $47. [more]

Mercer Lacrosse Returns to League Conference Play

Following a one-game exhibition contest last year to renew the sport at Mercer, the University’s men’s club lacrosse team has been probationally accepted into the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference to begin play in January. This past February, under the direction of faculty adviser Emory Dunn, a team of 40 players suited up for Mercer’s first lacrosse competition since the mid-1990s against the Metro Atlanta Inferno. [more]

Equestrian Club Successfully Opens Second Season

The Mercer Equestrian Club's Hunt Seat Team successfully began its second season of competition on Sept. 27 at Georgia Southern University. Sophomore Annie Barnes tied for highpoint rider of the show after winning blue ribbons in both her intermediate on the flat class and novice over fences class. She brought home the reserve highpoint tri-color ribbon after a very competitive ride-off against a more experienced open-level rider. [more]