The Board of Regents, the 18-member governing body for the University System of Georgia, elected Regent M. Allan Vigil to a 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, 2006, through June 30, 2007. He has served as chair of the regents’ Committee on Real Estate and Facilities for the past year.

“I am honored by this appointment and the high level of accountability that accompanies it,” Vigil said. “This is a challenging assignment that requires strong support from the entire board. I look forward to joining with my fellow regents in providing the leadership and direction that will continue to propel the University System of Georgia.”

As chairman, Vigil will join with the other members of the Board of Regents’ Executive Committee in discussing and establishing the board’s primary goals and objectives for the coming year.

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. A member of the Southlake Kiwanis, Vigil was also named Businessman of the Year for 2001 by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and won the Hispanic Business, Inc. 2002 EOY Award in the Retail & Finance category. A member of Ford's "One Hundred Club," he also repeatedly has earned Ford's highest honor, the President's Award.

Vigil’s community service to the Southern Crescent dates back to 1983, when he first was named to the Board of Trustees of the then-Clayton Junior College Foundation. Indeed, along with his wife, Bonnie P. Vigil, he has been one of the region’s most devoted civic leaders for more than two decades, also serving as a board member of the State of Georgia’s Board of Motor Vehicle Safety, and the Fayette and Clayton County Chambers of Commerce. He served as president of the latter organization in 1990.

Among the leadership roles that Vigil has filled in support of Clayton State include making one of the first leadership gifts towards the building of Spivey Hall, helping recruit Dr. George Horton from Auburn University to serve as the University’s first dean of the School of Business in 1987, and serving for the past 19 years as a sponsor of the University’s annual Career Fair.

“Mr. Vigil is an outstanding person of the highest character,” says Dr. Thomas K. Harden, president of Clayton State. “He is a consummate community servant, a successful businessman, and a committed citizen.”

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 his Bachelor of Arts in business administration from the University of Florida.

The Vigils live in McDonough and have two children.

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