The Board of Regents, the 18-member governing body for the University System of Georgia, elected Regent Allan Vigil to a second consecutive one-year term as the board's chair.

Vigil, who was appointed to the Board of Regents by Gov. Sonny Perdue in August 2003, will serve as board chair from July 1 through June 30, 2008.

“I am honored that the board wants me to continue in this capacity for a second year,” Vigil said. “The work of providing the University System of Georgia with leadership and direction is quite challenging, but also deeply rewarding.”

As chairman, one of Vigil’s first tasks will be to guide the Board of Regents in discussing and establishing its primary goals and objectives for the coming year. Since he was first elected chair last June, Vigil has led the board in endorsing a new data-driven Strategic Capital Model for assessing the USG’s facilities needs. He also oversaw the process of updating the board’s strategic plan and the observance of the University System’s 75th anniversary. Under his leadership, the University System received a record state appropriation of $2.1 billion and has continued to experience record enrollments (nearly 260,000 students enrolled in Fall 2006).

Vigil is president and owner of Allan Vigil Ford in Morrow and Allan Vigil Ford in Fayetteville. He has been affiliated with the Ford Motor Company since 1971, when he took a job with the company as a field manager. He is a past chairman of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association, the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association and the Ford National Dealer Council.

Vigil serves on the board of directors of Southern Regional Hospital and the Clayton State University Foundation Board of Trustees. He was named Hispanic Businessman of the Year by the Atlanta Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 1996 and has been named a member of Ford’s “One Hundred Club.” He also repeatedly has earned Ford’s highest honor, the President’s Award.

Vigil served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970, including a tour in Vietnam as a first lieutenant. He was awarded a Bronze Star and an Army Commendation Medal for his actions there. A native of Tampa, Fla., Vigil received a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from the University of Florida.

Vigil and his wife, Bonnie, live in McDonough. The couple has two children.

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