Emily Parker Myers acted with poise, passion and persistence during her three decades at Mercer University. She led efforts that helped raise the profile of the University, inspiring those around her in the process. Here’s how she became a Mercer Legend.
Emily Parker Myers
Mercer connection: Mercer administrator
Years at Mercer: 1973-2008
What she did: Myers, a graduate of Florida State University, worked briefly in administration positions at Jacksonville University and Stetson University School of Law in Florida but spent the majority of her career at Mercer. She began in Mercer’s admissions office, appointed as associate director of admissions in 1973, and then became the University’s first female senior vice president for university advancement in 1979. At the time, she was among only 25 women in the United States to lead a higher education advancement program.
As coordinator of Mercer’s external relations programs, Myers led dozens of staff members across Mercer’s schools, colleges and campuses in securing vital financial resources for the University. She also guided the recruitment of more than 1,000 volunteers for various Mercer boards and committees and served on executive search committees to fill many key administrator positions.
She also spent a lot of time getting to know Mercer’s future students. She visited the largest high schools in Georgia and Florida and interviewed prospective students on campus.
Myers was senior vice president of advancement and external affairs and special assistant to the president when she retired in 2008. Following her retirement, she became chief executive officer of Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting, serving in that role until January 2023. She has stayed involved in the local community and throughout Georgia.
Why she’s a legend: Myers’ distinguished career of more than three decades at Mercer left a legacy of excellence in admissions, advancement and beyond.
She ushered in funding that helped to grow, advance and enhance the University. During her tenure in university advancement, Mercer received private gifts and grants of more than $500 million. Myers was instrumental in the University’s Advancing the Vision Campaign and securing funds for the creation of the Mercer School of Medicine and the construction of the University Center, among many other accomplishments.
“Your secret, I know, is unbridled energy,” the late Robert Steed, a Mercer life trustee, wrote of Myers for the dedication of the Welcome Center in 2012. “Through your skills as an organizer, executor and visionary, you were exemplary. But I think fundraising was your forte. Your success in fundraising and project advancement was unparalleled.”
Myers was dedicated to her work at Mercer and took it seriously, operating with poise and high standards. She was calculated, tenacious and passionate in her pursuits to better the University. She dove whole-heartedly into some of the toughest tasks and worked alongside those whom she supervised.
The Emily Parker Myers Admissions and Welcome Center on the Macon campus was named in her honor and dedicated in 2012.
Quotable: “Emily represented the University with intelligence, with dignity and with integrity. She combines an extraordinary mind and a strategic good sense with poise and deep respect for her work and the people with whom she worked. She was a resilient and effective senior administrator, a woman of extraordinary competence, a person driven by high expectations, all of which were cushioned by a wonderful and disarming sense of humor.” – Dr. Kirby Godsey, former Mercer president, during the dedication of the Welcome Center in 2012
