Mercer taps Penny Elkins as first female president

Penny Elkins — an educator for more than 30 years — will be the new president of Mercer University, school officials announced Nov. 14.

Elkins previously served in administrative and teaching roles at the university. She started her career there as a professor in the Tift College of Education and later served as senior vice president for enrollment management. She is currently Mercer’s executive vice president and interim provost.

Elkins was the unanimous pick of a 12-member presidential search committee led by former Mercer Board of Trustees Chair Richard A. “Doc” Schneider. The committee’s recommendation of Elkins was accepted earlier Nov. 14 — in another unanimous vote — by university trustees during a meeting at Mercer’s Penfield campus in Greene County.

Elkins will replace William D. Underwood, who announced in April his intention to step down as the university’s leader — after serving in that role for 19 years — and return to a full-time teaching role in the Mercer School of Law. She will take office as the university’s 19th president — and the first woman to hold that role — on Jan. 1.

The president-designate holds two degrees from Mercer, including a bachelor’s degree in Christianity and education and a master’s degree in education. She has a specialist in education degree from Georgia College and State University and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Georgia State University.

“To be called and entrusted to lead the institution that so profoundly shaped the trajectory of my life is deeply humbling,” Elkins said.

Underwood said trustees made the “best choice imaginable” in selecting Elkins.

“I am overjoyed for Mercer,” he added. “She will be an amazing president given her exceptional and demonstrated leadership and relational and problem-solving talents.”

The outgoing president also told The Melody that college administrators operate in competitive environments — “but it’s good that she’s a competitive person,” he noted.

After Elkins was announced as the next president of the institution during a late-afternoon press conference, applause and cheers filled the University Center, a massive hub for students at Mercer’s Macon campus.

Elkins told the students and university employees in attendance that she would continue to be “out and about” around campus.

She said listening shows that every person matters — and that the university’s supportive culture has kept her on campus.

Of her student years at the university, Elkins said: “I just knew … people were going to care for me, challenge me and help me to be the best version of myself.”

After graduating from Mercer, the Columbus native worked as a third-grade teacher at Macon’s Jessie Rice Elementary, which was closed as part of Bibb County consolidation efforts in 2015. Elkins later was assistant principal at L.H. Williams Elementary.

After taking office, Elkins said she plans to host listening sessions to understand the challenges facing staff members and students — and the successes they bring to the table.

“We’re in such strong momentum right now,” she said.

As president, Elkins will push the university toward filling industry needs — from health care vacancies to the further development of the Georgia Aerospace & Defense Alliance, established in August to capitalize on and continue growing these efforts.

The alliance — founded by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Rolls-Royce, FlightSafety International and RTX — will be headquartered at Mercer’s Macon campus. Its work will help grow the state’s aerospace and defense industries, which have a combined economic impact of nearly $58 billion a year and employ nearly 200,000 Georgians.

Elkins said she will tell Mercer’s story “boldly” while also broadening learning opportunities for students, increasing research opportunities and pushing for more interdisciplinary collaboration.

Mercer, established in 1833, is a private research university serving more than 9,000 students on campuses in and around Macon, Atlanta, Savannah and Columbus.

Its main campus is in Macon. The university’s medical and law schools are also located in Macon, and university officials recently announced plans to build a new medical school campus that will serve as a gateway to the city’s rapidly growing downtown area.

The Melody will update its coverage and add photos from the news conference, so check back on this developing story.