Please join me in welcoming the Class of 2026, who I will speak with this morning as part of their orientation. It's always an exciting time when a new class begins at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine.
We reached an important milestone this past month with our expansion project, with the new north building now over half complete. On August 19, we held a “topping off” ceremony, which signifies that the building has reached its highest point and is more than halfway through construction.
We plan to move into the new building in the fall of 2023, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony sometime next summer. The remodeling of our current south building and the construction of our large animal arena and isolation facilities will be completed by the end of 2024.
I invite everyone to the All School Welcome and Kick-Off on September 16 under the overhang of the Veterinary Medicine building. The beginning of a new academic year is always inspiring, and I look forward to welcoming everyone back to the school for this fall semester.
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UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director |
Welcome to new employees Heather Dring with the hospital call center; Magdalene “Pip” O’Keeffe, a veterinary technician assistant with the Emergency and Critical Care unit; Danielle (Dani) Sands and Jennifer Schaefer, both greeters/cashiers with the reception team; and Diedra Topel, a certified veterinary technician serving as the Surgery/Central Supply/Operating Room supervisor.
Congratulations to Emily Spensley, CVT, on her new role in the large animal hospital, having previously served with the Emergency and Critical Care unit since 2020. And welcome back to Annie Witt, CVT, who returns to UW Veterinary Care as a float tech between Cardiology and Primary Care.
You can't beat the client comment below or the fact that the compassionate, outstanding care delivered by our faculty, staff and students would inspire someone to travel 1,200 miles or more. Well done, everyone!
"There are no words to describe the beyond exceptional service, knowledge and friendliness of your staff. I drove here all the way from Austin, TX to have my best friend seen by the very best. If I lived in India I would still take my animals here if they needed serious care! Truly world class facility and staff. ... The UW continues to shine bright and makes me proud to say: On Wisconsin!" -Craig
Christopher Snyder, DVM, DAVDC
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
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While visiting the construction site of the original UW School of Veterinary Medicine building, Susan Hyland MS’73, PhD’78 pauses to pet a stray cat who happened to be passing by. Hyland, a graduate of the UW–Madison Department of Veterinary Science, the precursor to the SVM’s Comparative Biomedical Sciences graduate program, served as the school’s first associate dean for academic affairs and also played a leading role in the school's development and launch.
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In August, a special pup named Cola stopped into UW Veterinary Care for his first check-up with Primary Care. Cola is the second dog in the UW Health Kids American Family Children’s Hospital CHAMPs (Canine Health and Medical Pals) program. He has been trained to work in healthcare settings and provide comfort to children; specifically, Cola will work in the palliative care unit. He joins Kiko, another CHAMPs dog who joined the hospital in September 2021. The CHAMPs program includes a partnership with the UW School of Veterinary Medicine to provide the dogs' medical and infection control needs.
Also last month, Congressional staff visited the SVM to learn more about the school's impact on global health and how the Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Disease, co-directed by Professor Lyric Bartholomay PhD'04, is identifying the best methods to prevent exposure to tick and mosquito-borne illness.
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion News
An update from Richard Barajas, assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion
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The school will host an unveiling of the community mural project led by artist Tia Richardson during the Dean’s Get Together on October 21. This mural, painted collaboratively as part of the Iverson Bell Midwest Regional Diversity Summit hosted at the school in May, is designed to build community with the school and diversify the representation on the walls of the building. It will be on display in the school’s Renk Learning Center and serve as a marker for improving diversity not only at UW-Madison but in the field of veterinary medicine as a whole.
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Congratulations to Professors Jonathan McAnulty, Department of Surgical Sciences, and Garret Oetzel, Department of Medical Sciences, on achieving emeritus status following their retirement this summer.
Welcome to Jim (James) Narlock, a curriculum coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs. Jim (as well as curriculum coordinator Molly Harris) will support the school’s current curriculum and coordinate the development and eventual implementation of the revised curriculum. Jim has a background in primary, secondary and higher education.
Welcome also to Nicholas Griffiths, department administrator for Comparative Biosciences. Nick comes to the SVM most recently from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has worked at UW-Madison for many years prior at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences' Institute for Research on Poverty and the Waisman Center.
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Eighteen UW School of Veterinary Medicine students who participated in the Summer Scholars program presented their work at the 2022 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium in August. The symposium highlights the essential role of scientific research in veterinary medicine and provides veterinary medical students an opportunity to formally present their research. Related: At the symposium, Kailey Wichman and Madeline Zutz were awarded 2022 Veterinary Student Research Fellowships from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research. The 18 presenting students (and their mentors):
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Matt Aviles (D. Doepfer)
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Andrea Biancalana (L. Arendt)
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Amelia Corona (F. Mowat)
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Emilie Dewever (J. Hite)
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Rachel Illgen (B. Hartup)
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Lisa Kim (N. Zitzer)
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Krista Li (E. Lashnits)
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Keegan Lim (R. Lipinski)
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Brianna Lynch (E. Lashnits)
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Erika Mueller (G. McLellan)
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Sam Murray (M. Suresh)
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Jake Rastas (S. Johnson)
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Aly Sandblom (X. Pan)
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Marissa Savage-Gibson (R. Johnson)
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Christina Stevensen (Starr Cameron)
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Kailey Wichman (M. Zamanian)
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Rachel Zheng (P. Pierre)
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Madeline Zutz (J. Martins)
Congratulations to Virginia Mathu, a graduate student in the lab of Professor Gillian McLellan, awarded Outstanding Presentation by a Trainee at the 2022 Midwest Eye Research Symposium.
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Johanna Elfenbein, assistant professor with the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, was co-corresponding author of a paper published in July in Nature titled Bacterial retrons encode phage-defending tripartite toxin-antitoxin systems.
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High school students from UW-Madison’s Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence and the Madison-based organization Maydm visited the UW School of Veterinary Medicine in July to help answer the question: what can you do as a veterinarian? The answer: a whole lot. The Maydm group, pictured here, got firsthand experience with various aspects of veterinary medicine, including time spent in the clinical skills lab working on sutures, physical exams and intubation with animal models. Read more. (Photo: Maydm)
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September 10
2022 SVM Tailgate
Noon-2 p.m.
School of Veterinary Medicine
September 16
Dean’s Get Together
4:30-6:30 p.m.
School of Veterinary Medicine
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September 30
Career Exploration Day
For DVM students; details to follow
5-7 p.m.
School of Veterinary Medicine
October 21
Dean’s Get Together
4:30-6:30 p.m.
School of Veterinary Medicine
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WTMJ-TV
Phys.org
Mid-West Farm Report
Vox
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“There is a dramatic shortage of specialists — people who have gone through residency training and are board certified in a particular specialty. ... Now the expectation is that you want [someone who is] board certified to take care of your animal, and there are just not enough of them so it’s super challenging.” |
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