UNM school marks milestone

Staff Report

The UNM School of Medicine will celebrate its 40th anniversary with some distinguished guests in Santa Fe today.

The event, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., UNM President Bill Gordon and Maralyn Budke, UNM Hospital Board of Trustees president, will begin at 6 p.m.

At the celebration, which will be held at Santa Fe’s Eldorado Hotel, attendees will recognize the school’s 40-year history along with those who have been instrumental in its success.

A key player in the development of the medical school has been former UNM president Tom Popejoy, who began to campaign to provide better health care and health care education to New Mexicans in 1960. He helped convinced the state Legislature of the need for medical education in New Mexico.

According to a press release, what started as a two-year basic science school has grown over the past 40 years into what is now recognized as the School of Medicine.

In 1961 the state appropriated $25,000 toward the implementation of a two-year basic science school. Five years later, an expansion was approved that allowed the two-year school to develop into a four-year medical school.

From that point, the growth of the school continued, which helped allow it to become what it is today. In 1999, the UNM School of Medicine received $70 million in grant awards.

“Medical schools have a special mission — a social contract to create public goods that improve the quality of life for all people,” Paul Roth, dean of the UNM School of Medicine said in a prepared statement. “Our alumni, faculty, students and staff have built an excellent school of medicine.”

Along with the anniversary, the UNM School of Medicine has created the Sen. Fabian Chavez Endowed Chair for Population Health Research, which will honor Chavez for his work in establishing the school. Faculty members honored with the endowment will have the opportunity to do research that studies the effects of certain diseases prone to New Mexico’s population, such as the Hantavirus.