The Joseph V. Scaletti papers are now processed, and the guide is available to view online. The papers help document the career of Dr. Scaletti and the history of the UNM School of Medicine.
Joseph V. Scaletti (1926 July 22 – 2010 March 8) was a microbiologist, professor, and one of the founding faculty members of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. At UNM, Dr. Scaletti served as professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology in the School of Medicine. He created the Allied Health Sciences program in 1972 and became UNM’s first Vice President for Research in 1978. As Vice President for Research (1978-1986), Dr. Scaletti greatly increased funding, oversaw the construction of multiple campus buildings, and planned and established University Research Park and the Rio Grande Research Corridor.
During his long career, he advocated for and worked toward expanding healthcare to New Mexico’s rural communities. Along with Dr. Clark Hansbarger, Dr. Scaletti established the Rural Health Interdisciplinary Program. This program, which lasted from 1990 – 2003, trained UNM students in different healthcare-related fields to study and work in rural clinics in New Mexico. He also co-wrote a grant with Dr. Sanjeev Arora in 2004 to fund Project ECHO, which provided “a model for treating complex chronic diseases in rural areas.”
The annual Joseph V. Scaletti Memorial Catalyst Lecture, hosted by the UNM HSC Clinical and Translational Science Center, is named in his honor. Established in 2011, the lecture series “features an individual, institution, or idea responsible for accelerating the rate of positive change and forward progress in the areas of biomedical research, healthcare education, innovative healthcare delivery, and state-of-the-art patient care.”
Dr. Scaletti with a DNA model, circa 1960s, Joseph V. Scaletti papers, HHC 323
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