HCCC Member Press Releases

Dr. Penny L. Elkins Elected as Mercer University’s 19th President

PENFIELD, Ga. – The Mercer University Board of Trustees, meeting on the historic Penfield Campus in Greene County, today unanimously elected Penny L. Elkins, Ph.D., as the institution’s 19th president.   Dr. Elkins will succeed current Mercer President William D. Underwood, who has served as the University’s 18th president for almost two decades, on Jan. 1, 2026. She has been a member of Mercer’s faculty and senior administration for more than 25 years and currently serves as executive vice president and