UNM health system leader to retire July 31
Dr. Paul Roth delays departure by 30 days; two new hires needed
The leader of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences will stay on board until the end of July, at which time an interim executive will take over until a finalist is selected.
UNM President Garnett Stokes announced in an email to the university on Wednesday plans to replace Dr. Paul Roth, who is retiring after more than 40 years at UNM.
Roth wore many hats at UNM. He retired from three positions: dean of the UNM School of Medicine, chancellor of the
UNM Health Sciences Center and chief executive officer of the UNM Health System.
In November, Roth announced his plans to retire. He was planning to stay either until his replacement is selected or July 1. Stokes she said asked him to stay on another month and he agreed.
After that, Dr. Mike Richards, the senior vice chancellor for clinical affairs, will be the interim executive vice president for health sciences starting Aug. 1 until a permanent replacement is hired, Stokes said.
Dr. Martha McGrew will be the interim dean of the School of Medicine starting July 1. McGrew has been the executive vice dean since 2015.
It will take two hires to replace him, Stokes has said. She said that the university will announce finalists for the executive vice president of Health Sciences in coming weeks. The school also plans to hire a new dean for its medical school.
Because of the pandemic, Stokes said it’s uncertain when finalists for the positions will be brought in for on-campus interviews.
Roth came to the university in 1976 for a family practice residency program and became a professor of emergency medicine in 1993. He’s been the dean of the medical school for 26 years and the chancellor of health sciences for 14 years.
He also filled in as acting UNM president in 2010 when former President David Schmidly had a health crisis.
Stokes, in announcing the plans for Health Sciences, credited Roth for his recent work during the pandemic.
“I am convinced that our success to date in managing the pandemic at UNM is in no small part a result of his leadership,” she wrote in her message to the university.