MACON/ATLANTA - Approximately 1,600 students will be recognized during Mercer University graduation ceremonies on its Macon and Atlanta campuses in May. Mercer President William D. Underwood will confer bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees during 10 commencements, and graduates will hear from an array of distinguished speakers. Among those speaking at the commencements in Macon will be R. Lanier Anderson III, senior circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, who will address the commencement ceremony for Mercer Law School on Saturday. Additionally, Mercer alumnus and noted author, Dr. Ferrol A. Sams Jr., will address the School of Medicine commencement on May 8.In Atlanta, Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, will address the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on May 8, and on May 22, Robert F. Hatcher, president and chief executive officer of MidCountry Financial Corp. and chair of the Board of Regents...
ATLANTA - Mercer University President William D. Underwood today announced the appointment of Linda A. Streit, R.N., D.S.N., as dean of Mercer's Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, effective July 1. Since July 2009, Dr. Streit has served as the College's interim dean, succeeding Dr. Susan S. Gunby, who returned to a professorship within the college upon her retirement as dean last summer. Dr. Streit is a tenured professor and associate dean of graduate programs, and she has served as a professor and administrator at the College since 1990.
MACON - Two Mercer University students have earned Fulbright grants to address problems in Asia through research and activism. Hannah Vann, a women's and gender studies major from Rome, and Kathryn Doornbos, a biology major from Brasstown, N.C., both earned grants from the highly competitive program to extend their interests beyond graduation. The two are both graduating May 15. Doornbos plans to study tick-borne illness in northern Thailand and Vann will conduct research on the women's movement in Indonesia.
MACON - Sierra Development announced today the retailers that will occupy the first floor of the Lofts at Mercer Village during a groundbreaking ceremony for the multi-million dollar mixed-use development on Montpelier Avenue in the College Hill Corridor. Joining the Barnes & Noble at Mercer University are three local businesses that have leased the remaining retail space. They are Fountain of Juice, Margarita's Mexican Grill and Designer Tan.
MACON - Mercer University will host a reception and book signing to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics and the release of Relationship Banker, a biography of the School's namesake, Eugene W. Stetson, on Saturday, April 24, from 4-5 p.m. in Stetson Hall on the University's Macon campus.
MACON - Pipedreams, a syndicated show carried on National Public Radio stations across the country, will air Mercer University Organist Robert Parris' performance of Leo Sowerby's "Concerto for Organ and Orchestra" at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The recording will air during the week of April 19 and is the first time it will be broadcast since the 2004 performance at the National Convention for the American Guild of Organists.
ATLANTA - Mercer University's Board of Trustees today approved a $185.4 million operating budget for next year, a $4 million, or 2.3 percent, increase over the current budget. Tuition for Mercer's undergraduate programs will increase by 3.48 percent. Last year's increase for Macon undergraduate programs was 2.9 percent, compared with increases of 6.5 percent in 2008, 6.8 percent in 2007 and 7 percent in 2006. Tuition increases for graduate and professional programs range from 1 percent to 4.4 percent.
MACON - Mercer University sophomore Joshua Coleman has been awarded a 2010-2011 Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship, a yearlong, $26,000 award, which he will use to study in Angers, France, at the L'universitie catholique de l'ouest. Coleman, of Guyton, is an English and French double major.For more information on the scholarship program, go>.Coleman will be in France October 2010 through June 2011 and will study French language, culture and literature. In addition to his studies, Coleman will also volunteer with the Rotary Club and the local community, as well as speak to local Rotary Clubs and organizations about his ambassadorial experience.
MACON - QuadWorks, the campus activities board of Mercer University, will host its third annual Bearstock Music and Arts Festival on Saturday. The concert is free, open to the public, and will feature 17 bands on two stages. The music begins at noon on Porter Patch at Mercer's historic Macon campus and will feature headliners Jeremih, Cartel, The Maine and We the Kings, along with 13 local bands. Jeremih is scheduled to perform at 7:05 p.m. and Cartel will take the stage at 8:05 p.m.
MACON - A delegation of Mercer students and faculty has been invited to this year's national conference sponsored by the Clinton Global Initiative University - a program of the William J. Clinton Foundation - to highlight the University's efforts to help amputees in Vietnam and to announce new commitments to service. Four professors and six students have been selected to attend the conference, which will take place April 16-18 at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.
