by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Dr. Paul Roth has another title to add to his name.
Roth - who is dean of the School of Medicine and associate vice president of Clinical Affairs - was appointed earlier this month by UNM President Louis Caldera to serve as interim executive vice president for the Health Sciences Center.
Caldera said he looked for the most qualified individual, whom he said was Roth.
"With an upcoming (health) summit and lots of things happening at the Health Sciences Center, we needed one qualified person," Caldera said. He said Roth stood out because he is the longest-serving dean of medicine at any university in the country.
Roth, who was appointed UNM's dean of medicine in 1994, said he was appointed to the new position because the president and board of regents are confident about his qualifications.
"I believe the regents and the president have expressed confidence in my leadership skills and are confident that I will be able to continue the very good work of Dr. Eaton that he initiated up to the point of his retirement," he said.
Dr. Phil Eaton, who retired in July, had been apart of UNM's faculty for 37 years.
Caldera said Eaton deserves the chance to retire.
"He is at the age where he wants to retire and spend more time with his grandchildren and wife," he said. "We are very grateful for his leadership all these years."
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Roth said the three positions he holds are natural extensions of each other.
He said there are a number of activities planned that are crucial to the Health Sciences Department. One of the scheduled activities pertains to a new way the medical school and UNM Hospital relate to each other.
"The medical school and hospital will relate to each other in more integrated way," he said. "I am working with the regents and the president in preparing and following through with the requested health summit."
Gov. Bill Richardson requested a health summit be held in October, which will address the financing of health care for the homeless. The summit will be a public meeting in an effort to fully understand ongoing issues, Roth said.
"We are working to make the hospital more effective for patients," he said. "The summit will allow us to respond in the greatest impact."
Caldera said nobody raised the question on increasing Roth's salary when he added another position to his workload.
"He's not doing the position for more pay," he said. "He is doing it for the Health Sciences Center - he wants to see it succeed."
A national search is being conducted to find Eaton's permanent replacement, which could last several months, he said.
"We have addressed the search committee, and we are in the process of hiring a search firm," he said.
