Mercer University and its President W.L. Pickard

William Lowndes Pickard 1914-1918

• Clergyman, educator, author (1861-1935); A.B., A.M., D.D., LL.D. degrees; married to Florence Martha Willingham (1886)
• Called to the presidency during a most trying period of world war and an unsteady market
• Broadened the curriculum, enlarged student enrollment from 357 to approximately 1,000, and increased the endowment
• Worked toward strengthening the law course, making it a three-year program
• Improved the offerings of summer school and recommended co-education
• Benefited from the acquisition of the fifty-acre Dempsey tract, which provided room for future expansion and settled the agitation for moving the university from Macon
• Expanded communication with the university alumni association, requesting an annual report to the trustees
• Provided leadership as president of the Georgia Baptist Convention's board of education, encouraging the active participation of churches and associations in Baptist education in the state
• Persevered despite a fire in the Administration building and the damage caused by water and the collapse of the steeple

Mercer University and its Acting President J. F. Sellers

James Freeman Sellers, Acting President 1913-1914

• Educator, chemist, author (1862-1936); A.B., M.A., LL.D., D.Sc. degrees; married to Medora Fort (1888)
• Served as acting president while teaching chemistry from 1893-1918
• Purchased the fifty-acre Dempsey tract, providing room for future expansion and settling the agitation for moving the university from Macon
• Raised four thousand dollars for improvement of the Mercer campus, including a system of walks and shrubbery planted by the president and his wife

Orange and Black, advertisement for Mercer University, March 28, 1914:

"Well equipped chemical, physical, biological and pharmaceutical laboratories; gymnasium with hot and cold baths; splendid Y.M.C.A. in beautiful building; Students' Hall, each room with modern ventilation; twenty professors; eleven buildings; ten thousand volumes and one hundred current periodicals in library and reading room. For information address J. F. SELLERS, Macon, Georgia"

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."

Mercer University and its President C.L. Smith

Charles Lee Smith 1905-1906

• Lecturer, educator, author (1865-1951); Ph.D., LL.D. degrees; married to Sallie Lindsay (1889)
• Elected president with an annual salary of $2,500 and inaugurated with much ceremony and broad representation of state and national educational institutions
• Assumed leadership at a time when William Heard Kilpatrick would state: "There is now at Mercer University an ideality, a spiritual force which takes such strong hold of the students as to make them feel forever indebted to the college for the best single thing in their lives....Our work, then, is to preserve this inheritance."
• Led the university through a year of prosperity, with an increase of the endowment and the construction of new buildings, yet failed to receive proper support from the trustees in carrying out his policies

Mercerian, "From the Sanctum — The Carnegie Library," April 1906:

"President Smith received a letter from Mr. Carnegie on April the fifth, saying that he would make a gift of twenty thousand dollars for a library building at Mercer, provided that twenty thousand dollars more be raised by the friends of the institution as an endowment fund for the support of the library. This generous gift is the result of a lengthy correspondence between Dr. Smith and Mr. Carnegie, and all join in congratulating the President upon such success."

Catalog, "General Information — Climate," 1905-1906:

"Macon has an almost ideal climate. Unpleasantly cold weather is exceptional, and snow and ice are rare. Many people find it a most desirable winter resort. Certainly, few cities offer more attractions to those accustomed to the rigorous regions of the north. During term time the change from the mountain regions to the milder climate of middle Georgia is not only agreeable but conducive to health. The city has an altitude of 380 feet above sea level."

"Students wishing to pursue their studies in a mild climate, under sunny skies, will find Mercer University an inviting school."

Mercer University and its Acting President W. H. Kilpatrick

William Heard Kilpatrick, Acting President 1903-1905

• Educator, author (1871-1965); A.B., A.M., Ph.D., LL.D. degrees; married to Mary Beman Guyton (1898), Margaret Marigault Pinckney (1908), and Marion Y. Ostrander (1940)
• Served as acting president while teaching mathematics from 1897-1906
• Stated at Charles Lee Smith's inauguration: "There is now at Mercer University an ideality, a spiritual force which takes such strong hold of the students as to make them feel forever indebted to the college for the best single thing in their lives....Our work, then, is to preserve this inheritance."

Mercerian, "Editorial Views — Our President's Home-coming," December 1903:

The president's entire duties, however, are not yet to be taken up. Part of the work will remain in the hands of Vice-President Kilpatrick, who, with the excellent cooperation of the other members of the faculty, has been the faithful leader for the students and the ready promoter of every business interest of the institution during Dr. Pollock's absence.

Mercerian, "Editorial Views — Commencement Changes," March 1904:

"Commencement exercises for the present collegiate year will mark the advent of the academic cap and gown at Mercer University."

Mercerian, "On the Campus," February 1906:

"Professor Kilpatrick (in Ethics class): 'Mr. Bernd, when Eve ate the apple was that a case of inner or outer intention?'
Bernd: 'I don't know, sir, but I think the apple was inner (in her).'"

Mercer University and its President P. D. Pollock

Pinckney Daniel Pollock 1896-1903

• Educator (1860-1905); LL.B., A.M., LL.D. degrees; married to Ena Selman (1895)
• Was the first layman to hold the office of university president
• Raised $115,000 for the endowment fund, doubled the number of faculty and students, and constructed three brick buildings, now known as Groover, Ware, and Wiggs halls
• Placed emphasis on oratory, providing Mercer with victories and no defeats for a number of years
• Abolished the sub-freshman preparatory school, making Mercer fully a college
• Employed several young faculty members who later made national reputations at major universities, including William Heard Kilpatrick in education and Edmund Cody Burnett in history
• Oversaw publication of the Mercerian, the Kinetoscope, and a student handbook

"Mercer Rally Song," Mercer-Athens Champion Debate, May 28, 1898:

"When you see our speakers come, fearless, on the floor,
Just hold your breath a little—some'ns goin' to happen 'shore,'
And when they both begin to 'argify' and speak,
See proud Athens' knees a growin' 'kinder' weak."

Mercerian, June 1898:

"Resolved, 'That the breaking up of the Solid South would be conducive of the best interests of the South.' The question was well argued by both sides, but Messrs. [John Roach] Straton and [J. C.] Flannigan were too strong for Messrs. Walker and Weddington [of the University of Georgia], and the decision was rendered in favor of Mercer. The students of Mercer by their gentlemanly manners made a most favorable impression upon the people of Atlanta."

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."