Mercer University Atlanta

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Mercer and the Georgia Baptist Convention were affiliated for 173 years (1833-2006).[16][17][18] Mercer was founded (1833) by Georgia Baptists, but had an independent board of trustees and was not directly controlled by the convention; the convention funded scholarships for Baptist students and other special projects.[19] The lack of convention control caused friction with Mercer exercising its independence to embrace the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.[20][21] The convention also saw Mercer as becoming secularized and not conforming to its values. The convention voted on November 15, 2005 to end the affiliation effective in 2006.[22]
Mercer retains its Baptist heritage as an independent Baptist university. The university has ties to individual churches, provides scholarships through its Baptist Scholars Fund, and operates the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology, which is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Mercer's decision to become an independent Baptist university contrasts with other universities that became secular after severing ties with their state conventions; such universities include Furman University, Stetson University, the University of Richmond, and Wake Forest University.

The Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus of Mercer University is in Atlanta, approximately two miles (3.2 km) south of the interchange of Interstate 85 and Interstate 285 in the Northlake area of DeKalb County. The Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology, the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, and programs of the Tift College of Education (Master's and PhD programs), the Stetson School of Business and Economics (BBA, MBA and Executive MBA programs), and the School of Medicine (Master's program) are located here. Mercer's Atlanta campus was formerly the home of Atlanta Baptist College until it merged with Mercer in 1972. The campus is named for Cecil B. Day, founder of Days Inn Hotels who attended Mercer before leaving to serve in the United States Marine Corps.
Mercer enlarged the Atlanta campus in 2004 by acquiring the former headquarters of the Georgia Baptist Convention, which constructed a new headquarters in Gwinnett County. The former headquarters building, renamed the Mercer University Conference and Administration Center, is occupied by the American Baptist Historical Society and the Baptist History and Heritage Society.