Thirty years ago, Julia Davis started her career at Mercer University as an internal auditor. Through her dedication, leadership and problem-solving skills, she is now senior vice president for administration and finance — one of the University’s top officers.
Davis said she has always been “a numbers person” and declared accounting as her major early during her schooling at Georgia College & State University. She started working at Mercer after graduation while also pursuing her Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting from GCSU.
Starting out in internal auditing at Mercer gave Davis a broad view of the University and taught her a lot about different offices and departments.
“You go through, and you learn, and you ask questions, and you figure out how they operate, and you try to help them operate more efficiently,” she said. “It was beneficial for me to have that experience.”
Davis, a certified public accountant, went on to hold numerous finance and accounting roles at the University. For years, she worked under Associate Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Lynwood Donald.
“I felt like he had a lot of confidence in me, so I would go to different places,” she said. “I would learn about grants and contract accounting. Then somebody who used to do the audit left, and he put me in charge of the financial audit. It was just one thing after another. I just kept learning more and doing more, and I pretty much learned all aspects of finance and accounting.”
When Donald became senior vice president, Davis was promoted to his former position. She is the first woman to serve as treasurer of the University.
“It’s always been important to me to show my own two children — two girls — that hard work is important, work ethic is important, and to show them that you can pretty much do anything that you want to do,” she said. “Sometimes you have to work really, really hard. There were a lot of times I sacrificed and didn’t get to go do things with them. But at the end of the day, I have two great, wonderful girls that are independent and can do a lot of stuff on their own.”
Davis, who was promoted to vice president before taking on her current role in 2025, is responsible for budget and analysis, human resources, payroll and benefits, physical plant, information technology, auxiliary services, the University Center, Mercer Engineering Research Center and intercollegiate athletics.
Ensuring Mercer’s financial stability is crucial for the University to successfully execute its mission. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the University’s accreditor, considers the financial responsibility of an institution in its accreditation process.
“What you have to do as part of that accreditation is say what are your programs, what are your priorities, and how much money are you investing in them?” Davis said. “We invest most of our money in our academic mission and try to manage and maintain the other costs.”
Mercer’s financial strength is reflected in its A- credit rating from S&P Global, which evaluates creditworthiness on a scale from AAA to D. Colleges and universities strive to be above C, which would mean an institution is not meeting its obligations.
“As a parent, when you look to send your child somewhere, you don’t want to send them somewhere that is struggling or not accredited,” Davis said. “Financial strength also equals reputation.”
In her role, Davis also works on various University partnerships, and she enjoys figuring out how to make the partnership beneficial for both sides. Recently, she assisted in the financial aspects of establishing the Mercer Center for IDD Care, which is designed to transform care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Georgia.
Davis meets challenges head on and encourages others to do so as well. Managing the University’s facilities with the physical plant is new for her, but it also offers opportunities for her to learn and solve problems she hasn’t confronted before.
“We’re all going to be faced with challenges,” she said. “Don’t be scared to ask questions and persevere.”
