Atlanta — June 10, 2009

The Board of Regents, the 18-member governing body for the University System of Georgia, today elected Regent Robert F. Hatcher to a one-year term as the Board’s Chair.

Hatcher, who was appointed in January 2006 to the Board of Regents by Gov. Sonny Perdue as an at-large member, will serve as Board Chair from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010.

“To be chosen to lead this Board at this moment in time when the State of Georgia is faced with so many challenges is a great honor,” says Hatcher. “I appreciate the faith my colleagues have in my ability to lead them and work with Chancellor Erroll Davis to continue to strengthen this great system of public higher education.”

Hatcher is president and CEO of MidCountry Financial Corporation in Macon. He was the president and CEO of First Liberty Bank from 1988 until its merger with BB&T in 2000. Prior to First Liberty, he was with Trust Company Bank (SunTrust) for 27 years.

Hatcher is co-chairman of the Commission for a New Georgia. He serves on the boards of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation and NewTown Macon. In 2007, Hatcher was appointed to the board of trustees of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Foundation. Hatcher is an honorary lifetime member of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, which named him its 2005 Citizen of the Year.

He received the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, where he earned a degree in finance. Hatcher and his wife, Georgia, live in Macon. They have a son, Robert F. Hatcher Jr.

Regent Benjamin Tarbutton III chaired the committee that developed nominations for board officers for the coming year. Committee members were Regents Kessel Stelling and Felton Jenkins.

The Board of Regents is a constitutional body that governs and manages the University System of Georgia, comprised of 35 public colleges and universities, more than 283,000 students, and approximately 40,000 faculty and staff.

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