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By Michael Haederle
Senior Promotion
Dr. Teresa Vigil Named UNM School of Medicine’s Interim Senior Associate Dean for Education
Teresa Vigil, MD, has been named Interim Senior Associate Dean for Education in The University of New Mexico School of Medicine and will assume her new role on September 20.
Vigil currently serves as the assistant dean for Medical Student Affairs. In her new role, she will oversee Medical Student Affairs, Undergraduate Medical Education, Admissions, the simulation program, the Office of Continuous Professional Education and the Health Professions programs.
“I really want to emphasize the importance of medical and health professions education and their role in the mission of the School of Medicine,” Vigil said. “We are here to serve the health needs of the people of New Mexico. The role of the School of Medicine is to maintain that and make sure we have providers who can fulfill that mission.”
Interim Dean Martha Cole McGrew, MD, said Vigil is uniquely qualified for the role. "Dr. Vigil is a native New Mexican with a deep love for our state, for the School of Medicine and for students and education,” she said.
Her commitment to our learners is deep and she will lead with energy and enthusiasm for our mission, for community-based education and assuring an equitable learning environment.
“On a national level, she is involved with the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Educational Affairs. Her commitment to our learners is deep and she will lead with energy and enthusiasm for our mission, for community-based education and assuring an equitable learning environment."
Vigil grew up in Las Vegas, N.M. Her mother was a first-grade teacher and her father was a professor of political science at New Mexico Highlands University. She completed her undergraduate degree in biology at UNM, then went on to earn a certificate in medical laboratory science before working for several years at TriCore Reference Laboratories.
She started medical school at UNM in 1999 and completed her pediatrics residency there in 2007. Now a full professor, Vigil joined the Department of Pediatrics in 2007.
Vigil soon took on administrative responsibilities within the department. Over the years she has served as an associate program director, clerkship director and residency director. She has spent seven years in her current role in Medical Student Affairs.
She will be taking over from longtime Senior Associate Dean Craig Timm, MD. Timm, a professor in the Division of Cardiology, will remain in the School of Medicine as a working retiree.
Vigil says she will focus on attracting more School of Medicine graduates to remain in New Mexico to practice. “We’ve done it in the past,” she says, “and we can do it again.”