The Corporation Of Mercer University

The Corporation Of Mercer University, doing business as Mercer University, is a private non-profit educational institution based in Macon, Georgia, that operates as a prime recipient on federal grants and a prime contractor on federal service contracts. Mercer competes full-and-open; it does not hold SBA set-aside certifications and carries no set-aside designations across its federal footprint. The institution's federal portfolio spans 469 awards (93% prime, 7% sub-award) with combined potential value of $12.7 million and obligated dollars of $251.2 million.

Mercer's federal business splits between two distinct capability areas. First, tuition and educational services account for the majority of contract volume, driven by Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery delivery orders for tuition and fees at Mercer's medical and other schools — 74 awards with $5.1 million combined potential value, representing the single largest customer concentration. Second, Mercer's research and engineering subsidiaries (including Mercer Engineering Research Center, referenced in award summaries) deliver pharmaceutical and biomedical research, materials engineering, and technical analysis to defense and civilian agencies. Representative recent contract work includes a $507 thousand FDA definitive contract (awarded September 2023, completing September 2027) for in vitro bioequivalence testing of generic dermatological formulations, and a $15,262 DEA lease and rental of non-building facilities in Woburn, Massachusetts (awarded April 2026, running through March 2031). Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery issued multiple tuition delivery orders in the $5 thousand to $116 thousand range across 2021–2026.

Mercer's federal customer concentration sits heavily with the Department of Defense. The top five customers by award count account for 58 percent of all awards, led by the Department of the Air Force (104 awards), the Department of the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (74 awards, $5.1 million), and Air Force Materiel Command at Robins Air Force Base (38 awards, $2.8 million). By dollar value, the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery dominates at $5.1 million across 74 awards, followed by Air Force Materiel Command Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex at $3.3 million across 7 awards. The concentration signals that Mercer's prime contract footprint anchors to defense tuition reimbursement and Air Force sustainment research rather than broad-based mission work.

Mercer holds seat on two principal vehicle structures. The Indefinite Delivery Contract N0014098G2481 (Navy) carries 78 task orders valued at $5.3 million in combined potential, and Indefinite Delivery Contract FA850104G0001 (Air Force) carries 38 task orders valued at $6.6 million. Additional vehicles include Basic Ordering Agreement F0960390G0016 (30 task orders) and F0960387G0695 (7 task orders), both within the Air Force supply chain.

Activity has remained volatile but remains active. Awards per year ranged from 11 in 2023 to 24 in 2024, with 4 awards recorded in early 2026 (as of the source cutoff date in July 2026). Eleven awards valued at $507 thousand combined will reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, surfacing recompete risk in that window. The obligated-dollars figure ($251.2 million, nearly 1980 percent of potential value) signals historical invoicing well above remaining ceiling value on older IDV structures, indicating mature contract performance and mature vehicle drawdown.

Mercer acts as sub-recipient on federal grants through relationships with Emory University, Duke University, University of Georgia, University of Arizona, University of Illinois, University of Delaware, University of Alabama at Birmingham, The Medical University of South Carolina, and Georgia State University Research Foundation — capturing work in biomedical research (xylazine pharmacology, mesenchymal stem cell therapy, arterial contractility), STEM teacher preparation, public health workforce development, and rural health networks. As a prime grant recipient, Mercer holds awards from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health institutes (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of General Medical Sciences), the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (TRIO Student Support Services, Upward Bound, Educational Opportunity Center), the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, and the Rural Utilities Service. Representative grant work includes a $272,364 TRIO Student Support Services award (CFDA 84.042, September 2025–August 2026), a $387,750 NIDA Drug Use and Addiction Research Program award (CFDA 93.279, September 2024–August 2026) for xylazine molecular pharmacology research, and a $817,161 NIAID award (CFDA 93.855, July 2024–June 2027) for human gut-derived mesenchymal stem cell research in Crohn's disease treatment, conducted in collaboration with Emory University.

Mercer's federal profile reflects a mature research university with deep roots in Navy medical education partnerships and Air Force sustainment work, combined with a robust grant-funded research enterprise spanning biomedical sciences, STEM education, and rural health workforce development. The institution competes as a full-and-open entity without set-aside advantage and operates through established IDVs and BPAs rather than seeking new prime contract vehicles.