Raleigh Kirby Godsey, better known as R. Kirby Godsey, (born April 2, 1936) served as the seventeenth president of Mercer University, an independent, coeducational, private university, located in the U.S. state of Georgia, from July 1, 1979 to June 30, 2006 (27 years), longer than any of his predecessors.
[1][2] Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study; liberal arts, business, education, music, engineering, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law, theology, and continuing and professional studies.
Earlier, in November 2005, the convention voted to break ties with Mercer after a student gay-rights group held a "Coming Out Day" on the university campus.
[2] Godsey attempted to maintain the relationship by assuring the convention that Mercer does not advocate homosexuality, but allows discussion on the matter.
[6] Godsey had previously alienated the conservative convention by insisting on academic freedom for the university,[7] and by making theological statements in his book When We Talk About God, Let's Be Honest that many Baptists considered heretical.
He is a frequent lecturer and a consultant on leadership and higher education administration and serves on a number of civic and professional boards and committees.
In 2002, he was named the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) III Chief Executive Officer of the Year.