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History
Mercer University
Mercer University was founded in 1833 in Penfield, Georgia, under
the leadership of prominent Georgia Baptist leader Jesse Mercer.
The University moved to Macon in 1871. The second-largest Baptist-affiliated
educational institution in the world, Mercer is the only independent
university of its size in the country that combines programs in
liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing,
pharmacy, theology, law, and continuing and professional studies.
Walter F. George School of Law
Founded in 1873, Mercer’s School of Law is one of the oldest
law schools in the country. Named for Walter F. George, a 1901 graduate
of Mercer’s law school who went on to become a justice of
the Georgia State Supreme Court and later a U.S. Senator, the law
school has a rich and distinguished history.
Throughout its history, the School of Law has
earned a reputation as a high-quality provider of legal education
with an intense focus on student/faculty interaction.
After a $15-million endowment by George W. Woodruff, Mercer initiated
an innovative curriculum that reinforced its commitment to small
classes and a practitioner-oriented approach to education. As a
result, the Woodruff Curriculum is now looked upon as a model for
law schools across America.
This strong history is further exemplified by
the distinguished practitioners of the legal profession throughout
the 20th century who got their start at Mercer’s School of
Law. Some of these include:
- Judge Griffin B. Bell (’48),
served as the 72nd Attorney General of the United States
- The Honorable Walter F. George (’01),
former U.S. Senator and Georgia Supreme Court Justice
- Manley Brown (’64),
Partner, O’Neal, Brown & Sizemore
- The Honorable W. Louis Sands (’74),
U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Georgia
- Ruth West (’74), Partner,
King & Spalding
- Danny Craig (’79),
District Attorney for the Augusta, Georgia Judicial Circuit
- Cathy Cox (’86), Georgia
Secretary of State, the first woman to be elected to that position
- The Honorable Yvette Miller (’80),
Georgia Court of Appeals, the first African-American female on
the court
- Nancy Grace (’84),
Anchor, Court TV, and Legal Commentator and Guest Host, Larry
King Live
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