MACON – Judge Douglas C. Pullen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the 2005 commencement of the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. Judge Pullen is a 1967 alumnus of Mercer’s College of Liberal Arts and a 1970 graduate of the Mercer Law School.
He has served as a Superior Court judge in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit since 1995, when he was appointed by then Gov. Zell Miller. His outstanding work and unswerving integrity on the bench are reflected in his repeated re-election.
Before his appointment, the Columbus resident served 23 years in the Office of the District Attorney for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. He spent the last six of those years as district attorney and the previous 10 years as chief assistant district attorney.
Dedicated to his community and the welfare of its citizens, Judge Pullen was the founder of the first Victims and Witnesses Rights Center in the Columbus area. He gives generously of his time and effort, providing astute leadership to organizations that serve others. A longtime member of the Columbus Lions Club, he is on the board of directors of the Chattahoochee Council of Boy Scouts of America and the Muscogee County Alzheimer’s Association.
A man who demonstrates his faith through his day-to-day actions, Judge Pullen is a deacon of First Baptist Church of Columbus.
Thanks to the vision, wisdom and judgment of Judge Pullen, the Mercer Law School has created a new public interest fund that provides stipends and a loan forgiveness program for students who choose to work in the public interest field.
He has also been influential in assisting the University in receiving approximately $3 million for the Advancing the Vision campaign, benefiting the endowments of the School of Law, the School of Pharmacy and the School of Medicine, including the establishment of the Thomas B. and Doris E. Black Endowed Chair in Pediatrics.
He is married to the former Patricia G. Price, who is a retired educator. They have two children, Laura Jane and Douglas Jr. Douglas Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps to Mercer, graduating last year from the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics.
About Mercer University and the School of Law:
Founded in 1873, Mercer’s School of Law is one of the oldest law schools in the country. Named for Walter F. George, a 1901 graduate of Mercer’s Law School who went on to become a justice of the Georgia State Supreme Court and later a U.S. Senator, the Law School has a rich and distinguished history.
Founded in 1833, Mercer University has campuses in Macon and Atlanta as well as three regional academic centers. With 10 schools and colleges, the University offers programs in liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law and theology. For 15 consecutive years, U.S. News and World Report has named Mercer University as one of the leading universities in the South.
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Photo Cutline: Dr. James C. Elder Jr,, (right) pastor of First Baptist Church, Columbus, a 1977 graduate of Mercer University and a member of the Mercer University Board of Trustees, assists President R. Kirby Godsey (left) with the hooding of Judge Douglas C. Pullen. Judge Pullen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Mercer University.
