Mercer President Penny Elkins will host five public meetings this month to discuss her administration’s vision for the University and gather feedback from students, faculty and staff, according to an email sent Jan. 7. As one of Elkins' first moves as president, she said the discussions are just the first step in crafting her administrative strategy.
Mercer dubbed the meetings “Future Forward Forums” and sent a now-closed survey for students, faculty and staff on Thursday, Jan. 8, which Elkins said would inform how she approaches the forums. Larry Brumley, Elkins' chief of staff and the senior vice president for marketing communications, said the University received a "very robust response to the survey."
“I want to clearly communicate to the Mercer community that I value input, and I value people,” Elkins said. “I will read those surveys, and then I will decide how we move forward. We are in this together.”
Elkins said she expects the responses to provide unique ideas to “enlarge the academic enterprise.”
“That means not necessarily developing new programs,” Elkins said. “It might be saying, ‘How do we add more value or substance to various courses, classes or campuses?”’
She added that she will pull anecdotes from the survey’s open response questions to discuss at the forums. Her focus is on the student body, aligning with past presidents’ “strategic commitments.”
Elkins filled two positions in her cabinet last week: appointing Lisa Lundquist executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, and naming Maria Hammett interim senior vice president for enrollment management. Elkins served in both of these roles at Mercer before becoming president.
Scheduled forums:
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 3:30 p.m. – Trustees Dining Room, Atlanta Campus
Wednesday, Jan. 14, 12:15 p.m. – Columbus Campus
Thursday, Jan. 15, 3:30 p.m. – Presidents Dining Room, Macon Campus
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 12:15 p.m. – Savannah Campus
Wednesday, Jan. 28, 7 p.m. – Virtual (Zoom)
Nathaniel Jordan '29 intends to major in Journalism at Mercer and hopes to work as an investigative journalist. His hobbies include poetry, photography and home cooking, and you can probably find him around Macon shopping or walking through local parks with his wife and son.
