Over 70 cases of COVID-19 were reported on Mercer University’s Macon campus this week according to the weekly testing summary. The number has nearly doubled each week since students began moving back on campus.The week freshmen moved in for Bear Beginnings, August 13-19, the Macon campus reported ...
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Presidential Scholars Weekend endures with new COVID-19 regulations
By Dean Yusuf | February 3Although the COVID-19 pandemic has canceled many popular events at Mercer, the university has still managed to take control of the situation by adapting to safety protocols. One event Mercer was able to continue holding was its annual Presidential Scholars Weekend Jan. 22-23. The event was hosted in ...
The financial cost of COVID-19: How Mercer is navigating a financially uncertain world
By Kaitlyn Fowler | November 9The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a cloud of financial doubt over many colleges and universities across the United States — and Mercer University is no exception. When colleges and universities had to send their students home last March as the reality of the pandemic began to sweep the nation, ...
Study abroad office grapples with changing restrictions, pandemic
By Lars Lonnroth | November 8During the spring semester, 25 Mercer students were studying abroad in countries near and far when the reality of COVID-19 set in. As the pandemic sent schools into virtual learning and Mercer’s partner universities overseas sent their international students home, Mercer’s study abroad office ...
Mercer cancels spring break, plans ahead for new semester amid pandemic
By Rose Thorne | November 7Mercer University canceled its spring break, which was set to take place midway through the spring 2021 semester, according to an email to students from Mercer President Bill Underwood Nov. 3. The move is another part of the university’s plan to manage COVID-19 on campus. “One of the factors enabling ...
Mercer enrolls 951 new undergrad students amid pandemic
By Henry Keating | October 7Mercer University enrolled 951 new residential undergraduate students this year, according to a Mercer press release. Inside of that, administrators also reported continued growth in Mercer’s health sciences programming. “We have a really strong enrollment within our health sciences area,” Assistant ...
Mercer to administer free flu shots to prevent ‘twindemic’
By Rose Thorne | October 3Mercer University will administer flu shots on campus in late October, according to an email to students from the university provost’s office Oct. 2. “This year, more than ever, it’s important to get a flu shot,” a flyer attached to the email said. “The combination of flu and coronavirus ...
BREAKING: Mercer announces 10 new cases of COVID-19
By Rose Thorne | October 2Mercer University announced 10 new cases of the novel coronavirus between its Macon and Atlanta campuses in its weekly testing summary published Friday. That’s the lowest number of positive cases reported in a weekly update this fall. Between Sept. 25 and Oct. 1, six students on the Macon campus ...
NEWS RUNDOWN: Mercer expands med school, Tarver installs commuter lounge and students phone bank for Biden
By Rose Thorne | September 26Mercer University and its students have been busy since the fall semester began. Here’s a rundown of some of the top news stories from campus and beyond. Mercer breaks ground on Columbus, Ga., medical school campus As part of its ongoing mission to expand health care access across Georgia in rural ...
Great Books program implements three-year diversity plan
By Mandi DeLong | September 25The new director of the Great Books program, Charlotte Thomas, is working on a three-year plan to incorporate more works written by female authors and authors of color into the Great Books curriculum. The Great Books program is one of the two general education tracks for students in the College ...
Pilgrimage to Penfield to stay on campus
By Henry Keating | September 22Every fall, first-year students load onto charter buses and make the “Pilgrimage to Penfield,” where students go to the site of Mercer’s founding. This year, however, new students will be attending a reimagined version of Pilgrimage to Penfield Oct. 17 in Five Star Stadium as a result of the COVID-19 ...
Student files lawsuit against Mercer over spring coronavirus response
By Mary Helene Hall | September 15A Mercer University senior filed a class-action lawsuit against the school on behalf of all students who paid tuition for “in-person, hands-on educational services and experiences” in the spring 2020 semester. The lawsuit demands a tuition refund due to the fact that COVID-19 forced the university ...
Mercer begins undergraduate COVID-19 surveillance testing
By Mary Helene Hall | September 13Mercer University began surveillance testing on the Macon campus for undergraduate students on Sept. 1. The university previously began this testing procedure in graduate and professional programs in Macon and Atlanta on Aug. 25. The surveillance testing initiative aims to gain more information about ...
Mercer University updates mask guidelines
By Mandi DeLong | September 9Mercer University updated their COVID-19 policies surrounding face masks Aug. 24. While Mercer first put into place a mask requirement during its second summer session, the policy was expanded in mid-August after fall classes began. “The updated mask policy includes additional details on where and ...
BREAKING: Forty-five students, two employees test positive for COVID-19
By Lars Lonnroth | September 4Mercer University saw an additional 47 positive coronavirus cases during the week of Aug. 28 to Sept. 3, the university announced Friday in its weekly update of COVID-19 cases. The university breaks those 47 cases into four different subsections of the Mercer population: Macon students, Atlanta students, ...