(MACON) – Mercer University President R. Kirby Godsey has named Hewitt W. “Ted” Matthews, Ph.D., vice president for the Health Sciences. In his new position, Matthews will direct the cooperative initiatives in health care education and research among the University’s schools of pharmacy, medicine and nursing. He will continue to serve as dean of Mercer’s Southern School of Pharmacy, a position he has held since 1990, and as the Hood-Meyer Alumni Professor.
“Ted Matthews is a national leader in pharmacy education,” said President Godsey of the appointment. “Under his leadership, Southern School of Pharmacy has grown in stature and reputation for excellence both in teaching and in research among its peer institutions. The same administrative expertise and vision of purpose that he has provided to the School of Pharmacy will benefit the School of Medicine and College of Nursing in pursuing cooperative research and academic efforts.”
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 enahnced 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 1,800 candidates vying for the 130 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.
Matthews has provided leadership to both state and national organizations. He has served on the board of directors of the Georgia Pharmacy Association and as president of the National Pharmaceutical Association as well as chairman of the board of directors of the National Pharmaceutical Association Foundation. A member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology Development, Matthews has been chairman of the Commission on Pharmaceutical Care and of the Commission to Revise the Georgia Pharmacy Practice Act of the Georgia Pharmacy Association. The American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists selected him to serve on its Commission on Goals. He recently completed a six-year term on the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education, serving a two-year term as secretary/treasurer.
Matthews has served on several editorial boards and presently serves on the editorial advisory board of U.S. Pharmacist. He has written more than 100 publications and abstracts and has given more than 275 professional and scientific presentations at local, state, national and international meetings.
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.
He and his wife, Marlene, live in Fayetteville, Ga. They have two sons, Derrick and David.
