Penny Elkins named Mercer University’s first woman president, succeeding William Underwood in 2026

The first woman president of Mercer University will succeed the current president, William D. Underwood, on Jan. 1, 2026. 

The Mercer board of trustees unanimously elected Penny L. Elkins on Nov. 14 as the 19th president of the institution, according to a news release.

“To be called and entrusted to lead the institution that so profoundly shaped the trajectory of my life is deeply humbling. As a proud Double Bear, I can never fully repay what Mercer has given to me,” said Elkins in a news release. “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.”

Elkins has served as a member of Mercer’s faculty and senior administration for more than 25 years and is the current executive vice president and interim provost.

“I am confident that the University will thrive in the extremely capable hands of Dr. Penny L. Elkins,” said Cathy Callaway Adams, the incoming chair of the Board of Trustees, in the news release. “She will be an innovative, courageous and inspiring leader in carrying out Mercer University’s mission of preparing and equipping students for lives of discovery, empowerment, service and impact, and in the process, changing the world.”

On the same day the board elected a new president to the university, they also named nine new trustees, including former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. 

Deal, who served as governor of Georgia between 2011 and 2019, graduated from Mercer’s undergraduate and law programs, and he previously served on the board from 1994 to 1999, according to 13 WMAZ.