Harold B. Hall, Dean of Students Emeritus at Mississippi State University, died Thursday [Dec. 11] at the age of 85.
Visitation is Saturday [Dec. 13], from 5-7 p.m., at Welch Funeral Home, 201 W. Lampkin St., Starkville. The service will be Sunday [Dec. 14], at 2 p.m., at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 4211 Old Hwy. 12, Starkville, with burial at Memorial Garden Park on Oktoc Road.
Hall served as Dean of Men from 1965-70 and Dean of Students from 1970-93, the longest serving in that position in university history. For almost three decades, thousands of students were guided and mentored by him.
Hall was also very active in the Student Affairs profession as he served in leadership roles in professional associations and mentored many other young professionals. He built and grew the Division of Student Affairs alongside Robert L. Jones, MSU's first Student Affairs vice president; Roy Ruby, who succeeded Jones; and Bill Foster, the division's longtime assistant vice president.
Because of his outstanding work with students, the Harold B. Hall Emergency Fund for Needy Students was established in the early 1990s by one of Hall's students. The fund continues today and gives the Dean of Students discretionary money to help students in an emergency.
In 2013, the Division of Student Affairs inducted him into its inaugural Hall of Honor that pays tribute to those who have provided sustained and distinguished service to the division and the university's students.