8 0 M ACO N M AG A Z I N E.CO M | O C TO B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9
LEGAL
LUMINARY
BY JAMI GAUDET
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH
FROM JOURNALISM AND LAW
TO POLITICS AND ACADEMIA,
CATHY COX MAKES HER MARK
ON MACON AND BEYOND
er path to the deanship of Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law was
a circuitous one, mixing diligence, ambition, vision and serendipity. But Cathy Cox
never planned to lead a law school or a college. Her academic plans didn't include a
journalism degree or a doctorate of juris prudence.
Her passion was horticulture, and after high school she earned an associate's degree in
agriculture at Tifton's Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Like her grandmothers, she
loved plants and gardening, and considered a career in research or someday owning a nursery.
But a summer job at a newspaper led to an interest in reporting, which prompted Cox's pursuit
of a journalism degree at the University of Georgia.
Diploma in hand, the young reporter felt competent covering crime, but in trials and
courtrooms she didn't understand the legal process or its jargon. So, she added a law degree
from Mercer University to her academic credentials and then transitioned into a career in law.
"I loved to write, but I had no idea that law entailed so much writing," she said. "In law
school I realized I could write in a more impactful way, and also, make a better living as a lawyer
than a journalist."
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