Mercer University President Penny L. Elkins, Ph.D., announced on Jan. 5 the appointment of Lisa Murphey Lundquist, Pharm.D., founding dean of Mercer’s College of Health Professions and senior vice provost, as University executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, effective immediately.
In her new role as Mercer’s chief academic officer, Dr. Lundquist will lead the University’s 12 schools and colleges, the Mercer Health Sciences Center, the Division of Student Life, University libraries, research, institutional effectiveness, international programs, registrar, academic and advising services, and Mercer University Press, among other units.
“Since 2006, I have worked alongside and observed Dr. Lundquist as she has progressively assumed additional leadership roles and responsibilities. She has proven herself at every position she has held to be an exceptional leader and is highly respected by her colleagues across the institution,” said Dr. Elkins. “I am confident that she will provide the leadership needed to advance Mercer’s academic enterprise and further establish its reputation as the most impactful private research university of its size in the world.”
Over her 20-year tenure at Mercer, Dr. Lundquist has served as a faculty member in the College of Pharmacy, an assistant and associate dean of the College of Pharmacy, and since its founding in 2013, dean of the College of Health Professions, which includes programs in physician assistant studies, physical therapy, clinical psychology, public health, athletic training and kinesiology. She is a tenured professor in the College of Pharmacy.
“I am honored and humbled with this appointment and I am excited to work alongside Mercer’s remarkable faculty, staff and students in this new role,” said Dr. Lundquist. “Together, we will continue to advance academic excellence, foster innovation and enhance collaboration. I look forward to building on our strong foundation, keeping student success at the heart of everything we do, and shaping a future aligned with Mercer’s mission.”
Dr. Lundquist succeeds Dr. Elkins, who has served as interim provost for the past 10 months following the untimely death last February of Mercer’s longest-serving provost, Dr. D. Scott Davis.
The recipient of numerous awards, including the College of Pharmacy’s Distinguished Educator Award in 2008 and Professor of the Year in 2011 from the Rho Chi chapter in the College of Pharmacy, Dr. Lundquist is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa Society, Order of Omega, Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society, and Pi Alpha Physician Assistant Honor Society. She has authored or co-authored more than 90 scholarly articles and abstracts and has made numerous presentations at academic conferences. She also was named a Distinguished Fellow in the National Academies of Practice in 2025.
Dr. Lundquist earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Samford University, completed a postgraduate residency in primary care, and is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist. Prior to coming to Mercer, she served on the faculty at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy and practiced clinically in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. She is married to Charlie Lundquist, CPA, and they have two children.
