Mercer University and its President J. B. Gambrell

James Bruton Gambrell 1893-1896

• Editor, clergyman, educator (1841-1921); D.D., LL.D. degrees; married to Mary T. Corbell (1864)
• Worked with his faculty, giving prominence to the "family idea"
• Visited churches and associations, in an effort "to place the cause of Mercer, and of Christian education upon the hearts of the brotherhood," since the school was in financial need and "the value of education was not so generally recognized"
• While president of Mercer, almost nominated as governor of Georgia because of his fight against liquor (he had not yet lived in Georgia for the required six years)
• Began a department of pedagogy for training teachers in his second year of administration, as well as an informal "preachers' school," and announced class "electives" in the catalog of 1895
• Openly supported the policy of co-education at the university, noting that seventy-five percent of teachers in the state were women

"Words with Friends," concerning the financial situation of Mercer University and asking for donations (c1893-1896, prior to May 15)

"As to the endowment, realizing the magnitude of the undertaking, nevertheless, it seems clear to me, that, by anything like the right effort, with co-operation, we can raise it. The Methodists have raised a like amount and we can do anything in Georgia the Methodists can do."