MACON – On Feb. 17, Mercer university unveiled the Stembridge Center fro Student Success, named after Bill Stembridge of Moultrie. 

“Mercer University today dedicated the Stembridge Center for Student Success, which houses the offices of Student Success, Student Financial Planning, Registrar, Bursar and Student Loans,” said Mercer University Marketing Communications.

“By putting those offices all in the same building, no matter which one students go to, if they chose the wrong one, it’s only down the hall or up a floor or down a floor,” said Dr. James Netherton, executive vice president for administration and finance. “Those offices always collaborate on helping solve problems with students, but being in the same facility will amp that up greatly.”

The Center is named for Willard D. “Bill” Stembridge, a native of Moultrie and 1968 graduate of Mercer’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As a student, he was involved in many extracurricular activities, including membership in Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and worked in the registrar’s office.

Following graduation, Stembridge was employed in the University’s Office of Men’s Housing and Student Activities until December 1968, when he reported for active duty in the U.S. Army Reserve.

He returned to Mercer in 1974 as assistant registrar, becoming a full-time staff member in the office where he served as a student employee during all four years of his undergraduate career.

In 1986, Stembridge left the University to begin a long and distinguished career in public service working for U.S. Rep. Dr. J. Roy Rowland and Congressman Saxby Chambliss until retiring in 2014.

Currently, Stembridge serves on the Board of Governors for the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, the Georgia National Guard Youth Challenge Foundation Board and the Board of Directors for Mercer University Press.

He generously supports many areas of Mercer, including the Townsend School of Music, Mercer Athletic Foundation, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Mercer Press.

“Bill has been as supportive a graduate and as active a cheerleader of one’s alma mater as I’ve seen during my 30 years in higher education,” said Mercer President William D. Underwood. “Whether it’s attending fine arts or theatrical events, participating in lectures, or cheering at athletics events, Bill is everywhere having anything to do with this University.”

The Stembridge Center is located at 1283 Adams St. on the northwest edge of the Macon campus at the site of the former Macon-Bibb County Senior Citizens Center.

The facility was purchased by Mercer in 2015 and leased to the county until August 2018 when the University began renovations with the county nearing completion of the new Elaine H. Lucas Senior Center at Central City Park.

About Mercer University

Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. With more than 8,700 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges, on major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; medical school sites in Macon, Savannah and Columbus; and at regional academic centers in Henry and Douglas counties, Mercer is classified as a Doctoral University with High Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Education and ranked among the top tier of national research universities by U.S. News & World Report. The Mercer Health Sciences Center includes the University’s School of Medicine and Colleges of Nursing, Health Professions and Pharmacy. Mercer is affiliated with five teaching hospitals – Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; The Medical Center, Navicent Health, and Coliseum Medical Centers in Macon; and Midtown Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The University also has an educational partnership with Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is one of only 286 institutions nationwide to shelter a chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society; one of eight institutions to hold membership in the Georgia Research Alliance; and the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. www.mercer.edu