The Mercer University community is invited to witness the historic investiture of President Penny L. Elkins, Ph.D., at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 29 as the University’s 19th president and the first woman to lead the institution since its founding in 1833. Students, faculty and staff may gather at campus watch parties across five campuses to experience the ceremony together.

Mercer University presidential inauguration logo.

The watch party locations are:

  • Macon: Medical School Auditorium
  • Atlanta: Day Hall
  • Savannah: Distance Learning Room
  • Columbus: Distance Learning Room
  • Henry County: Regional Academic Center

Those unable to attend in person can watch the livestream from their own devices. The livestream will begin shortly before the ceremony and will be available at inauguration.mercer.edu/livestream.

The investiture ceremony is the culmination of a series of University-wide and community events known as the Countdown to 19. Guided by the inaugural theme — One Mercer: United in Mission, Amplified for Impact — the Countdown to 19 celebration brings together students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the University to honor Mercer’s rich heritage, celebrate student achievement, amplify its mission and impact, and look ahead to a bright future under Elkins’ leadership.

Here’s what else is planned for the Countdown to 19 leading up the ceremony:

Oct. 23

Be the Bear Fridays

Innov8GA Fall Conference

Oct. 24

PA Creepy Crawly 5K

Pilgrimage to Penfield

Bear Hunt

  • 5-7 p.m.
  • Knight Hall and Historic Quad (Macon)

Oct. 25

A Service of Blessing

Oct. 26

T-Minus 19: Launching Engineering Careers

Bears Bazaar

  • 6-8 p.m.
  • Cruz Plaza (Macon)
  • Mercer students only

Oct. 27

Homecoming Movie Night

  • 6 p.m.
  • Science and Engineering Building, Room 110 (Macon)
  • Mercer students only

Oct. 28

University Picnic

  • 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
  • Upper Quad (Atlanta)
  • Mercer faculty, staff and students only

University Picnic

  • 5-7 p.m.
  • Historic Quad (Macon)
  • Mercer faculty, staff and students only

Harvest Fest

Scenes from the celebrations

Inauguration celebrations continued Oct. 16-22 with the Countdown to 19! Here’s a look at some of what happened.

United Way Kickoff

A man speaks at a podium next to Toby pointing to a fundraising thermometer showing $147,000.
A man in a white polo shirt speaks at a podium in front of a United Way logo.
President Penny L. Elkins, Ph.D., speaks at a podium in front of a projection screen for the 2026 Mercer University United Way campaign.
People serving themselves at a buffet with various platters of food.
Toby and a man in a blue shirt holding an orange LIVE UNITED T-shirt.
Three women at a table displaying informational brochures and a teddy bear.
Photos by Leah Yetter

Georgia Grown Doctors Ceremony

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J. Harper speaks at a wooden podium.
School of Medicine Dean Jean Sumner speaks at a podium with three students in white medical coats standing behind her.
President Penny L. Elkins, Ph.D., laughs while talking to a group of medical students wearing white coats.
A group of people, including some in white medical coats, pose with a framed document at the Georgia National Fair.
Photos by John Knight
Related: Mercer School of Medicine named Georgia Grown Medical School

Go Baby Go

Two volunteers in orange shirts help a toddler into a white toy car.
A young boy sits in a red toy car guided by a woman, with other people standing in a gymnasium.
Person using a power drill to attach a license plate to a blue toy Ford Focus.
A child sits in a small toy truck while two volunteers in orange shirts guide them across a room.
Photos by Leah Yetter

Community Peace Walk

A Buddhist monk in orange robes standing on a stone bridge with a dog.
A diverse group of people walk in a line along a sidewalk past a brick house.
A group of people sit on the ground and a stone wall near a fountain, listening to a monk.
A Buddhist monk and a group of people walking together on a campus path.
A Buddhist monk tying a string bracelet onto a Mercer student's wrist.
A group of people walking together on a paved path in a park.
Photos by Leah Yetter
Related: Monk teaches meditation, leads Community Peace Walk during Mercer visit

Bears Under the Stars

People gathered at night around a Sidewalk Astronomy banner and a telescope.
Two people sitting on the grass at night, one holding up a smartphone to record or take a photo.
A laptop and a monitor displaying star charts of the night sky on a folding table.
A person looking through the eyepiece of a telescope while holding a paper cup.
Photos by Ryleigh Sandefur

OctoBEARfest

People in line at an outdoor buffet serving hot dogs and other food.
A person in a white sweater carving a pumpkin.
Four young women stand outdoors, two of them holding carved pumpkins.
Three students smiling outdoors, one holding a carved pumpkin.
A group of students sitting at a table outdoors painting small pumpkins.
A woman painting a small pumpkin with a brush.
Photos by Jamie Tucker

Wellness Fair

A Mercer student holds a white rabbit at an outdoor event.
Three people stand behind a wellness fair sign and table, holding Wellness Bingo cards.
Three young women dancing outdoors on a grassy lawn.
A group of people gathers around an outdoor table to make crafts.
Photos by Ryleigh Sandefur

For more information about the presidential inauguration, visit inauguration.mercer.edu.

 

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Jennifer Falk
Jennifer Falk
Jennifer Falk is director of digital communications at Mercer. She edits and writes feature stories for The Den and examines web data and analytics to drive content decisions. She also creates and supervises the creation of content for primary University web pages and e-newsletters.

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