Penny Elkins has been named the nineteenth president of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Upon assuming her role on January 1, Dr. Elkins will become the first woman and first person with two Mercer degrees to lead the university in its 192-year history.
Mercer University enrolls about 4,800 undergraduates and 4,300 graduate students, according to the most recent federal data. Women represent just under two-thirds of the undergraduate population.
A member of the Mercer University faculty and administration for over 25 years, Dr. Elkins has been serving as executive vice president and interim provost. Her other administrative experience includes service as senior vice provost for enrollment management, senior vice provost for strategic initiatives, and vice president of the university’s Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta.
As a faculty member, Dr. Elkins currently holds the Fred L. Miles Endowed Chair of Educational Leadership in the Tift College of Education. She has served as the college’s associate dean, chair of the department of teacher education, and chair of the department of educational leadership — which she founded. She also established the Ph.D. program in educational leadership and higher education leadership, which was the first doctoral program in the Tift College of Education. Dr. Elkins’ scholarship spans the fields of leadership and early childhood education.
“To be called and entrusted to lead the institution that so profoundly shaped the trajectory of my life is deeply humbling,” said Dr. Elkins. “As a proud Double Bear, I can never fully repay what Mercer has given to me, but years ago I accepted the call and dedicated my life’s work to paying it forward — to the current and future students, to the extraordinarily talented faculty and staff who create the ‘Mercer Experience,’ and to the communities we serve. Leadership is a privilege and a sacred trust, and I embrace with gratitude both the opportunity and the responsibility to steward Mercer’s mission with integrity, vision, and purpose. Now more than ever, our world needs more Mercerians.”
Dr. Elkins earned her bachelor’s degree in Christianity and education and her master’s degree in education from Mercer University. She holds an education specialist degree from Georgie College & State University and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Georgia State University.