Mercer University is a church-related institution of higher learning that seeks to achieve excellence and scholarly discipline in the fields of liberal learning and professional knowledge. It is a private university located on dual campuses in Macon, Georgia and Atlanta, Georgia. Mercer University was founded in 1833, in Penfield, under the leadership of prominent Georgia Baptist leader Jesse Mercer. The University was shifted to Macon in 1871. Mercer's Atlanta campus was formerly known as Atlanta Baptist College. The university, in 2004, acquired the headquarters building of the Georgia Baptist Convention, located adjacent to campus. The main campus in Macon consists of the College of Liberal Arts, School of Medicine, School of Engineering, Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, the Tift College of Education, and programs of the College of Continuing Education and Professional Studies. The Walter F. George School of Law is located one mile away. The second-largest Baptist-affiliated educational institution in the world, Mercer is the only independent university of its size in the country that combines programs in liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, theology, law, and continuing education and professional studies. The university has a student-to-faculty ratio of 15:1, is known for its excellent academic curriculum, and ranks high in many publications. The university also promotes continuing education, distance education, and research facilities. The Mercer libraries serve as a gateway to information resources through strong collections and innovative, technology-rich patron services to support the present and future educational needs of the university community. Mercer operates Regional Academic Centers in Henry County, Douglas County, and Eastman. It also runs the Grand Opera House in downtown Macon and owns an engineering research center in Warner Robins.