Michael Melendez, MD ’76

Michael Melendez was born in Bingham Canyon to Hispanic parents of Puerto Rican and Mexican heritage. He attended the U on a baseball scholarship and eventually earned a Navy ROTC scholarship. He graduated with a BS in Botany and on the same day was commissioned as an Ensign in the US Navy. He participated in the Vietnam War in Naval aviation.

After discharge, he began working for the Dean of Students on lower campus as an advisor to Hispanic students. A year later he was admitted to the U medical school. He graduated in 1976 and did a straight internal medicine internship followed by a residency in radiology and CT/ultrasound fellowship at the U.

He stayed on the U faculty and was appointed the Director of Radiology at the VA Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Radiology. He moved to North Idaho to help establish a modern radiology network at multiple community hospitals. He returned to the U in 1989 and was appointed as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology. He also served for a short time as the campaign manager for Rocky Anderson, the eventual mayor of Salt Lake City.

During his professional career he has volunteered with multiple diversity community and medical organizations. He has served on the Idaho Board of Medicine and on the admissions committee at the U medical school. He is currently an adjunct associate professor of radiology at the new Idaho Osteopathic School of Medicine and is on the board of the Salvation Army Kroc Center. He retired after 44 years in medicine. He and his wife have adult children and reside in Hayden, Idaho.