Mercer University’s Board of Trustees approved two new degree programs, installed 10 new members and elected officers during its annual Homecoming meeting.
 
A new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing will be offered through Mercer’s College of Nursing in Atlanta beginning May 2019. The hybrid program will allow individuals who meet admission criteria, including holding a non-nursing bachelor’s degree, to complete a BSN degree in 12 months. The College is partnering with Atlanta-area healthcare agencies to provide the clinical experiences for students in the program, which is being started to help address the critical nursing shortage in Georgia. The state is on pace to have the nation’s sixth-worst nursing shortage by 2030.
 
The College of Pharmacy will begin offering a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences this year. It will provide students accepted into the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Mercer the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree while simultaneously pursuing the Pharm.D. degree. It will benefit students wishing to pursue graduate study that typically requires a bachelor’s degree for admission. The degree will be awarded upon the successful completion of 66 credit hours of prerequisite coursework and all first and second professional year requirements in the Pharm.D. program.
 
New trustees who began their five-year terms at the conclusion of today’s meeting include G. Holmes Bell IV, chairman and CEO of the HGB architectural and engineering firm in Savannah; Charlie Cantrell of Macon, co-owner of Five Star Automotive Group; Shaun King, senior pastor of Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta; A. Rabun Matthews III, retired broadcasting executive from St. Simons; Jackie Baugh Moore, vice president of the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation in San Antonio; M. Diane Owens, of counsel and former partner with Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers LLP in Atlanta; A. Miller (Pete) Robinson, chairman and co-founder of Troutman Sanders Strategies in Atlanta; Chris R. Sheridan Jr., chairman of the board, Sheridan Construction, Macon; Raymond M. (Thad) Warren III, chairman and CEO, Warren Environment Inc., Atlanta; and Jerry S. Wilson, CEO and founder of JSW Business Consulting LLC in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Bell, King, Matthews, Owens, Robinson, Warren and Wilson are Mercer alumni. Matthews is filling the unexpired term of former Georgia Gov. and U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, who passed away earlier this year.
 
Trustees who rotated off the board and were recognized for their service include Heather Darden of Atlanta; A.V. Elliott of Macon; O. Gene Gabbard of Cary, North Carolina; William J. Ireland Jr. of Ooltewah, Tennessee; James W. Thomas Jr. of Arlington, Virginia; Hugh P. Thompson of Milledgeville; and Marc Treadwell of Macon.
 
Outgoing Board Chair Spencer B. King III, an alumnus and physician who completed his sixth term as a trustee, was elected a Life Trustee.
 
Executive Committee Chair Cathy Callaway Adams, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and a graduate of Tift College, was elected chair of the board. William A. (Tony) Moye, a McDonough businessman and graduate of Mercer’s College of Pharmacy, was elected chair of the board’s Executive Committee.