Penny Elkins, the 19th president and first female leader of Mercer University, announced her first major leadership appointment on Monday in Macon. During an event at the Spearman Godsey Science Center, Elkins named Lisa Murphey Lundquist as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.
“Mercer deserves a new academic leader who will actually give credence to the tradition and the longevity and the history of Mercer, but also nod and look toward the future and all that is to come,” Elkins said before officially naming Lundquist to her new position.
Lundquist expressed appreciation for her appointment and described her vision for advancing Mercer’s academic mission. “I am honored and humbled by this appointment, and I am excited to work alongside Mercer’s remarkable faculty, staff and students in this new role,” she said at the announcement event.
Lundquist previously served as founding dean of Mercer’s College of Health Professions and as senior vice provost. In her new capacity, she will oversee twelve schools and colleges at Mercer, along with units such as the Mercer Health Sciences Center, Division of Student Life, university libraries, international programs, among others.
With over twenty years at Mercer University, Lundquist has held positions including faculty member in the College of Pharmacy; assistant dean; associate dean; dean of the College of Health Professions since its creation in 2013; and tenured professor in pharmacy. She succeeds Penny Elkins herself, who had served as interim provost following Scott Davis’s death in February 2025.
Elkins commented on Lundquist’s experience: “Since 2006, I have worked alongside and observed Dr. Lundquist as she has progressively taken on additional leadership roles. She has proven herself in every position to be an exceptional leader and is highly respected by her colleagues across the institution.”
Looking ahead to her work with Elkins and other leaders at Mercer University, Lundquist stated: “Together, we will continue to advance academic excellence, foster innovation and enhance collaboration,” adding that student success remains central to their mission. “I want to see us continue to build on the strong foundation of keeping student success at the heart of everything we do and shaping a future aligned with Mercer’s mission to teach, to learn, to create, to discover, to inspire, to empower and to serve.”
Lundquist holds a doctor of pharmacy degree from Samford University with postgraduate training in primary care. She is board-certified in pharmacotherapy. Before joining Mercer University she taught at University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy while practicing clinically across Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia.
The announcement comes as President Elkins outlines priorities for expanding Mercer’s reach through program development initiatives like its Presidential Fellowship Program. She emphasized collective engagement: “We are looking for ways to enhance the impact of our students,” she said. “I believe deeply in this university … I believe in its people and all of us, and I believe Mercer’s best chapters are yet unwritten.”
Elkins also noted plans for an internal survey along with campus forums aimed at gathering input from stakeholders about advancing these institutional goals.
