Fall Is Upon Us | Message from the Dean

Message from the Dean | October 2018

Fall Is Upon Us

Fall has officially arrived and our students have been back at class for almost a month now. Their first exams are under their belts and the school is humming along.

We had a fantastic Dean's Get-Together at my home in Marshall Park a couple of weeks ago with over 200 people in attendance. We also have an exciting new addition outside of the Dean's Office. Animals Need Bucky Too -- one of 85 life-sized Bucky Badger statues displayed this summer through Bucky on Parade -- is now permanently in residence here. Please stop by to see this exciting new addition to the school. Thank you to our Animals Need Heroes Too campaign co-chairs, Debbie Cervenka and Karen Walsh, for sponsoring this statue and donating it to the school.

This coming month there are many exciting events occurring, including World Dairy Expo, the WVMA Annual Convention, and the SVM Fall Research Day, which takes place October 12.

I'm sad to report that one of our founding faculty members, Tass Dueland, former chair of the Department of Surgical Sciences and husband to Sue Hyland, passed away on September 20. Tass was a mentor to me and others and a great friend, and he will sadly be missed.

I hope everyone's fall goes well and although the Badgers football team has had some struggles in its first month, let's all hope that the season turns around and we're heading to Indianapolis in December for the Big Ten Championship .

UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director

Volunteers from UW Veterinary Care again provided canine first aid at the annual Capital K9s Dog Paddle fundraiser at the Goodman Pool in September. This fun event supports the expansion and maintenance of the Madison Police Department K9 Unit.

Congratulations to Jennifer Dreyfus who passed the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) certifying examination and is now an ACVP diplomate.

Welcome to Gordon Simle in medical records, who comes to us from the UW Health Medical Foundation.

And thank you to everyone at UW Veterinary Care for all that you do. Here is a recent comment from a hospital client appreciative of the care received here :

" Going to a veterinary specialist can be a stressful experience. There are not enough words to explain how fantastic my experience was with UW Veterinary Care. The staff and veterinarians have a team environment that lets you know they all work together to help your pet. Everyone was professional, warm, knowledgeable and committed to helping my pet. I felt that my time and input were valued. I would recommend that if anyone needs specialty veterinary care they make UW Veterinary Care their first and final stop. UW Veterinary Care's motto is 'Animals Need Heroes Too' and they live up to that ideal. They are heroes to my pet and me. Thank you for an incredible experience. "

- Jody, Woodridge, Illinois

Ruthanne Chun DVM'91
Director, UW Veterinary Care
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs

School News

The UW School of Veterinary Medicine was among the sponsors of the sixth annual "Celebrate Agriculture" football game September 8 at Camp Randall Stadium. Game day activities highlighted Wisconsin agriculture and its deep connections to the school and the university. At the game, a $5,000 donation was presented to the SVM's Animals Need Heroes Too building expansion campaign.

The SVM is among the UW schools and colleges that will provide support for the new Forward BIO Institute, part of the Forward BIO Initiative established through a $750,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to make Wisconsin a recognized center of excellence for biomanufacturing .

Student News

Rachel McNally DVMx'20 was named the first recipient of the $5,000 Fluno Scholars-Ahles Scholarship. The annual scholarship fund was established this summer at the SVM as a memorial to the late Peter Ahles, a fraternity brother of Jere Fluno during their studies at UW-Madison, and in honor of Ahles' daughter, Amy Ahles DVM'94, a small animal veterinarian in Medford, Wisconsin.

Maria Arendt MS'15, DVM'17, PhDx'19 won the student competition for oral presentation in the immunology health and disease section at the Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting in July in San Antonio .

Faculty and Staff News

Sheila McGuirk AABP Mentor of the Year Award

Sheila McGuirk, who retired in 2016 after 33 years on the UW SVM faculty, received the Mentor of the Year Award at the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Annual Conference in September for her commitment to mentoring the next generations of bovine veterinarians.

Welcome to Tami Flock, a human resources assistant advanced in the school's HR/Payroll office, and to Logan Burrows, who has joined the SVM IT Team as desktop support specialist and will help provide technical support of hardware, software and application/systems.

Research News

The SVM's Fall Research Day, which aims to inform students of research and career opportunities, will be held October 12 beginning at 3:15 p.m. The event will feature external speakers, posters of trainees' research and a social hour. Diane Larsen DVM'90, PhD'99 and Kevin Schultz (a faculty member at the SVM from 1985 to 1995) will discuss career options for DVMs. Larsen is currently head of pharmaceutical development projects for Boehringer Ingelheim. After leaving the SVM faculty, Schultz spent several years in industry and now works as a consultant.

A case study by Theresa Ollivett and Sheila McGuirk published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine documents a dairy farm's experience with salt poisoning that cost the farm 85 newborn calves.