Dr. Jesus Vallejo has worn many hats at Baylor College of Medicine: student, resident, fellow, scientist, physician, faculty member and senior associate dean of admissions. Now he is stepping into a new role that takes him away from Houston for the first time since he entered medical school: dean of the School of Medicine Temple Campus.

“When I interviewed at Baylor for medical school, I felt a connection. Everyone was friendly and made you feel at home. You could see a camaraderie among the medical students,” Vallejo said. “When I decided to come here, I found my classmates were very supportive. We all walked in the front door of the Cullen building together on day 1, and we all walked across the stage at graduation together.”

Vallejo grew up in Brownsville and went to college in San Antonio. When he came to Houston for medical school, he planned to complete a pediatrics residency and a cardiology fellowship before returning home to practice medicine in Brownsville. He completed the pediatrics residency but pursued an infectious diseases fellowship, and instead of going home, he stayed in Houston for the next three decades.

“You can come in with a plan, and then you have exposure to all these opportunities, and things change,” Vallejo said. “If I could go back again, I would do everything the same. It’s been an incredible journey.”

He started his career focused mostly on research, but he always enjoyed teaching students, residents and fellows during his clinical time. As his career progressed, he increased his clinical hours and spent more time teaching trainees. But it was a position on the  medical school  admissions committee that set him on his current path in leadership, he said.

After several years as committee co-chair, he was appointed assistant dean of admissions and later promoted to senior associate dean of admissions in 2022. Vallejo said he enjoys the opportunity to meet the high-achieving and well-rounded students who are accepted to Baylor each year.

“I am always amazed by the type of student that we attract – accomplished, bright and   genuinely altruistic,” Vallejo said. “They are not just focused on diagnoses and treatment plans. They truly want to understand the person behind the disease.”

Now, Vallejo will interact more closely with a new group of students as the dean of the Temple Campus. He has been involved with the Temple since its inception, leading recruitment for the first classes of students. Over the last three years, he has made countless visits to the city and built close relationships with deans, faculty and staff there. When the opportunity arose to take on a new position in Temple, Vallejo felt it was the right next step for him and his family.

“My kids are out of the house on their own. My wife and I were talking about what we’re going to do next. Here’s an opportunity for me to give back to Baylor in a new way. I can contribute to the education mission in a different way than admissions,” he said.

In the coming weeks, he and his wife will move to their new home in Temple. He will see patients at McLane Children’s Hospital and work alongside Baylor faculty and medical students. In 2027, he will be present for the  the campus’s first graduating class.

“The Temple Campus is a special place. It has the same educational  mission as the Houston Campus, but it has its own unique personality,” Vallejo said. “I am already receiving messages about the amazing work our students are doing in the Temple community.”

Over the course of his decades-long career at Baylor and between the Houston and Temple campuses, he said one thing has remained constant: the people and their willingness to help others. He credits this for his longevity.

“When I talk to applicants, they always ask, ‘Why have you stayed here so long?’  My answer is always the same: it’s the people,” Vallejo said. “I have been very fortunate to have had incredible mentors at Baylor during medical school, residency, fellowship and even as a faculty member. I still have mentors to this day.”

Vallejo enjoys staying in touch with his longtime mentors, and he appreciates that they can share in how far he has come in his career. He wants to pay it forward by mentoring others at Baylor.

“Someone saw something in me – the ability, and more importantly, the attitude, to get things done,” Vallejo said. “I want to do that for our students too.”

By Molly Chiu, communications lead in the Office of Communications and Community Outreach