Mercer University and its President S. Y. Jameson

Samuel Young Jameson 1906-1913

• Clergyman, educator (1859-1921); D.D., LL.D. degrees; married Etta Bibb (1884)
• Accepted the office of president as an act of Christian duty in 1906, having declined it the year before
• Increased student enrollment in the three schools of the university—arts, law, and pharmacy—by 50 percent
• Constructed a dormitory, now known as Sherwood Hall, and a library
• Began publication of the Cauldron, the student yearbook, in 1911
• Enlarged the financial resources of the university by more than a quarter of a million dollars
• Served as secretary-treasurer of the Baptist schools of Georgia, headed by Mercer and known as the "Mercer System"
• Advocated moving the university to Atlanta, though the plan failed
• Described by friend and former student and later professor, H. Lewis Batts: "In physique Dr. Jameson was tall and stalwart. His movements were energetic and firm. He was energetic in mind also. He had convictions, and by them he was utterly controlled. He was willing to defend them at any time and place. He was particularly effective before public assemblies, being able to convince his hearers by depth of feeling, by sincerity, and by a moral earnestness that would not yield."

Orange and Black, "Seniors Were Guests of Dr. and Mrs. Jameson on Friday Evening at Magnolia Terrace," May 30, 1913:

"The reception was informal, and every minute was full of the real kind of spirit that one so much desires to see at a reception. The terrace was made beautiful with lanterns and lights and the seats that were scattered in every nook and corner afforded a most delightful environment for the '13 men to tell their Macon friends how had [sic] they were made to feel in having to set sail."