Michael B. Hocker, MD, MHS

Biography

Dr. Michael B. Hocker, Dean of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, assumed his post on June 28, 2021.

Dr. Hocker comes to the Rio Grande Valley from the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) at Augusta University where he served as the senior associate dean and designated institutional official (DIO) of graduate medical education. In that role, Dr. Hocker oversaw 51 residency and fellowship programs. Previously, he served as the Vice-Chair of Operations for Emergency Medicine and assistant DIO for graduate medical education. He also holds the J. Harold Harrison M.D. Distinguished Chair in Emergency Medicine.

Prior to joining MCG, Dr. Hocker spent 14 years at Duke University School of Medicine, where he helped start what is now considered one of the country’s top emergency medicine training programs. He also earned a Master of Health Science in Clinical Leadership from Duke. In 2016, the Duke Division of Emergency Medicine honored his leadership with the naming of the Michael B. Hocker, MD, Duke Emergency Medicine Division Leadership and Service Award.

Dr. Hocker is a master clinician and Board certified in Emergency Medicine, he completed his internship at the UC Davis East Bay Surgical Program in Oakland, California, and his residency training in emergency medicine at the University of Massachusetts.

A former U.S. Navy flight surgeon, he graduated from Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Dr. Hocker and his family are excited about joining the UTRGV community and making South Texas their home, where they will be closer to his mother, Jean, and stepfather, Richard, who currently live in Harlingen.