Deans

Hewitt William Matthews, B.S., B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Dean, College of Pharmacy and
Health Sciences, and Vice President
for the Health Sciences

Ted Matthews began his association with Mercer University as a student. After earning a degree in chemistry from Clark Atlanta University in 1966, he enrolled in Mercer's Southern School of Pharmacy, graduating in 1968 with a bachelor of science in pharmacy degree. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees (1971 and 1973 respectively) in pharmaceutical biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he was a National Institutes of Health Pre-Doctoral Fellow and a Fellow of the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education. He completed postdoctoral work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Hospital Infectious Disease program.

A recipient of the Rennebohm Teaching Assistant Award from the University of Wisconsin, he joined the faculty of Mercer's School of Pharmacy in 1973. His commitment to teaching excellence earned him the Outstanding Teacher Award. Over the next decade, he held a number of administrative as well as faculty positions, including associate dean for the School of Pharmacy and assistant provost of the University. He was named dean of the School of Pharmacy in 1990.

Under Matthews' deanship, the School of Pharmacy moved from its downtown Atlanta location to new facilities on Mercer's 300-acre Atlanta campus, awarded its first Ph.D. degree, made clinical research a major initiative, and has enhanced its reputation on a national level. Mercer's School of Pharmacy has one of the strongest applicant pools of any pharmacy school in the nation. This year, the School has received more than 1,600 candidates vying for the 145 seats in its first-year class.

One of the School's strongest initiatives under Matthews' leadership is pedagogical research. The faculty has developed one of the most innovative teaching curriculums in the nation, which has resulted in a 96 percent retention rate for Mercer pharmacy students.

He is a recipient of the Dean's Award from the American College of Apothecaries for outstanding service to community pharmacy practice and the V. Carlton Henderson Award from Mercer's Pharmacy Alumni Association in recognition of outstanding personal and professional achievements that have added distinction to the practice of pharmacy in Georgia. Dr. Matthews also has received the Wendell T. Hill Award from the Association of Black Health-Systems Pharmacists, and the Chaucey I. Cooper Award from the National Pharmaceutical Association, both of which are the highest honors given by the associations. More>