MACON — Matthew R. Hall, who has served as interim general counsel at Mercer University since Jan. 5, 2022, has had the interim dropped from his title and assumed the role of senior vice president and general counsel, President William D. Underwood announced today.
A double Mercer graduate, Hall joined the Office of General Counsel in 2019 as assistant general counsel and was promoted to associate general counsel in 2020. He replaces William G. Solomon, who retired Jan. 4, 2022, after serving for a quarter century as Mercer’s chief legal officer. Solomon has served as of counsel with the University since his retirement and will continue to serve in that capacity.
“Over the last 18 months, Matt has provided steady, ethical and effective leadership for the Office of General Counsel,” Underwood said. “I have found him to be a trusted counselor who works well with other senior Mercer administrators, as well as faculty and staff and the legal community. He is a committed Mercerian who knows the institution well and will continue to diligently attend to the legal and regulatory affairs of the University.”
A native of Blackshear, Hall earned both his B.A. (1996) and J.D. (2000) from Mercer. Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel, Hall was in private practice, representing individuals, professionals, employers, corporations, and boards of directors in matters involving complex business litigation and commercial transactions. Hall is active in the Middle Georgia community, having served as chairman of the board of The Salvation Army of Greater Macon and as a board member on the Central Georgia Autism Foundation. Hall has additionally coached various youth sports teams and is a member of Ingleside Baptist Church. He is married to Aimee Jackson, an alumna of Mercer’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Law School, and they have three children.
“I am very pleased to serve Mercer University as senior vice president and general counsel. God’s plan for my life brought me from rural south Georgia to Macon, and Mercer has played an integral part in my life and in the lives of my family for nearly three decades. I am honored by the confidence and trust that President Underwood has shown in appointing me to this position,” Hall said. “In this role, I have the great pleasure of advising faculty, staff and administrators, who not only teach Mercer’s mission but also live it. The transformative power of Mercer is evident not only in Macon but across the entire state of Georgia. Bill Solomon has certainly set a high bar of legal excellence, professionalism and congeniality over the past quarter century, and I look forward to continue serving an institution that has given me so much.”
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. With approximately 9,000 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges, on major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; medical school sites in Macon, Savannah and Columbus; and at regional academic centers in Henry and Douglas counties, Mercer is ranked among the top tier of national research universities by U.S. News & World Report. The Mercer Health Sciences Center includes the University’s School of Medicine and Colleges of Nursing, Health Professions and Pharmacy. Mercer is affiliated with five teaching hospitals – Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center and Piedmont Macon Medical Center in Macon; Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah; and Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital and St. Francis-Emory Healthcare in Columbus. The University also has an educational partnership with Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer Medicine, the clinical faculty practice of the School of Medicine, is based in Macon and operates additional clinics in Sumter, Peach, Clay, Putnam and Harris counties. Mercer is one of only 293 institutions nationwide to shelter a chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society; one of eight institutions to hold membership in the Georgia Research Alliance; and the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. www.mercer.edu.
