Ushering in a New Era
for the School
I was thrilled to see the announcement (see below) from UW Madison Provost Charles Isbell that Dr. Jonathan Levine will be the next Dean of the UW School of Veterinary Medicine. In the short time I've known Dr. Levine, I've come to see him as a passionate, caring, forward thinking and authentic leader. The school's future will be bright under his capable leadership. I can't wait for all that the school will achieve in the coming years. The provost’s public announcement should be forthcoming.
April is an exciting time of the year at the School of Veterinary Medicine. The class of 2025’s Blue Coat ceremony will be held at the Monona Terrace on April 13. I congratulate everyone in the class of 2025 for this outstanding achievement! Speaking of celebrations, the school's Celebration of Excellence Banquet will be held on April 20, in Varsity Hall at Union South. This is an opportunity to celebrate the excellence and achievements of our faculty, staff and students, and I want to congratulate everyone who is recognized.
We continue to work on our new curriculum with the goal of approving phase one and the first two modules of phase two that will be taught in the first year this month. I want to thank everyone for their years of dedication and hard work as we approach this milestone.
We continue to look forward to the opening of the first and second floors of our new North Building this spring; it's been years of hard work and dedication to get to this point. We held an open house for our faculty staff and students in March and I think everyone who attended realizes the impact this facility will have on the future of the School of Veterinary Medicine.
I wish everyone an outstanding spring and approaching-end of our spring semester.
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Mark D. Markel
Dean, UW School of Veterinary Medicine
Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor
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Jonathan Levine Selected as Next SVM Dean |
UW Provost Charles Isbell announced last Thursday that Jonathan Levine has been selected as the next leader of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Levine will step into the role on August 1, 2024.
Dr. Levine is a professor of veterinary neurology and the head of small animal clinical sciences at Texas A&M University where he has also served as head of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and interim director for the Texas A&M Small Animal Hospital. He earned his undergraduate degree and doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Cornell University before completing a small animal rotating internship at Colorado State University. He completed residency in neurology at both Texas A&M and the University of Missouri.
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UW Veterinary Care News
Update from Chris Snyder, director, UW Veterinary Care, and associate dean for clinical affairs
Please join me in welcoming the following new employees who joined our team in January:
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Kendra Wilson joined the Diagnostic Imaging service this week as a new sonographer. Kendra comes to UWVC from Watertown Regional Medical Center, and brings over 5 years of sonography experience to her new role at UWVC.
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Sarah Harnden, CVT, moved into a new role as the ER Veterinary Nurse Supervisor this week. Sarah has worked in UWVC’s ECC for over 7 years and has also been working at Fitchburg’s Veterinary Hospital for over 16 years!
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Shana West, CVT, moved into a new role as a CS-SA OR Veterinary Nurse. Shana started in the float pool in January, and has enjoyed her time in the CS-SA OR so much, she decided to take a permanent nursing role with those services.
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Rachel Heath is joining the hospital CS team as a new sterile instrument technician. Rachel comes to UWVC from the human health world, where she’s worked for both Dean SSM and UW Health as a sterile processing technician. She brings over 8 years of experience to her new role with UWVC.
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Eppi Wiltse is joining the hospital reception team as a new client services specialist. Eppi brings over 10 years of customer services experience with her to UWVC.
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From the reception staff to the students, nurses, clinicians and everyone behind the scenes, you all play an important role in delivering compassionate care to our patients.
Thanks for all you do!
Chris
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Congratulations to SVM Food Animal Student Clubs |
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Students from the SVM Bovine Club, Porcine Interest Group (Pig Club), and small ruminant Club recently attended the Ohio State Food Animal Medicine Student Symposium and came away with two awards: the 2024 School Spirit Award and the Dairy Challenge (Novice division).
Back row (L-R): Kailey Wichman, Joie Haines, Maggie Jesse, Sarah Albers, Morgan Anderson
Middle row (L-R): Allison Leschke, Cady McGehee, Katelyn Quick, Emily Massie, Nicole Dureiko, Lindsey Wichman, Elizabeth Erb, Maegan Kreuscher
Front row (L-R): Hunter Grams and Brock Roy
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Teaching and Learning News
An update from Peggy Schmidt, associate dean for professional programs
Curriculum Revision
In March, faculty and staff received updates on four modules, and the new clinical skills courses during two all-SVM Curriculum Revision Town Halls. The detailed nature of the work in these Town Hall presentations highlights the progress made by faculty and staff over the recent months in preparation for the faculty vote on courses for the 2025-2026 academic year when the revised curriculum is set to launch.
Reproduction & Development
Maria Verbrugge presented on the work of the development team and co-leader Fei Zhao. Mirroring the format of previous updates, Maria presented their module and unit learning outcomes alongside a draft of the first week. This initial week included detailed breakdowns of didactic material and active learning sessions for the 2-week module, including correlated clinical skills labs.
Healthy Populations
Karen Hershberger presented on the work of the development team and co-leader Terri Ollivett. Karen highlighted the three main units within this module: nutrition, behavior, and epidemiology. A draft schedule of in-person activities and associated didactic materials across the module detailed were presented.
Foundations of Homeostasis & Foundations of Disease
The two Foundations modules emerged during module development activities over the past year as essential transitions for students into Phase 1 and Phase 2 (Foundations of Disease) of the curriculum. Foundations of Homeostasis, co-led by Lisa Arendt and Erin Lashnits, is designed to refresh student’s understanding of foundational aspects of homeostasis from pre-requisite work and aid in their transition into a rigorous professional program. Foundations of Disease, co-led by Mostafa Zamanian and Erin Lashnits, is designed to aid in the transition from the normal, healthy animal to animal disease and dysfunction across body systems. This module introduces concepts and patterns of thought for students to scaffold information about pathogenic processes, pathogens, treatments, and toxins they will learn throughout Phase 2 of the curriculum and set the stage for life-long learning.
Clinical Skills Courses
The revised curriculum includes a dedicated Clinical Skills course spanning Phases 1 -3. Karen Hershberger presented the work of the development team for the courses in the first year of the curriculum, which includes two, 2-hour structure practice labs each week, plus an additional two hours for students to independently prepare for labs and practice skills after lab sessions. Over Phase 1, students will focus on developing physical exam skills and developing appropriate techniques for safe handling and restraint in canine, feline, equine, bovine, and select special species patients.
Trained Clinical Educator Program for Technicians
The hospital's professional veterinary technicians play an important role in the education of Day One Ready veterinarians. They coach students through clinical procedures, demonstrate new skills, provide encouragement, and model exceptional professionalism—all while providing the highest level of patient care! This April, thirteen of our veterinary technicians will be honing their teaching skills with Margene Anderson and Peggy Schmidt in our Veterinary Clinical Educator Training Series. This cohort will join last year's inaugural cohort of recognized Trained Clinical Educators supporting students on the hospital floor.
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Career Networking Fair connects Students with Employers |
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Employers from many sectors of veterinary medicine visited the SVM March 27th for our annual Career Networking Fair. The event, which was open to all SVM students, was a fantastic opportunity for students to meet professionals in the field, make connections, and explore career paths through externships, job shadows, and full-/part-time job opportunities. |
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Grayson Doss (Surgical Sciences) and Macy Peterson (DVM x'24) were recently featured on Veterinary Vertex, a podcast of the AVMA Journals, to discuss their recent hedgehog pain medication articles in JAVMA and AJVR.
Tony Goldberg (Pathobiological Sciences) was featured in a story written by UW Sea Grant program about his research on the natural diversity of viruses (or virome) of fish in Wisconsin. It is the first project of its kind in North America. His research group identified 19 viruses in blood samples from 103 Wisconsin bluegills, brown trout, lake sturgeon, northern pike and walleye. Seventeen of the 19 viruses were new to science.
Lyric Bartholomay (Pathobiological Sciences) was a guest on Wisconsin Public Radio to discuss how the unseasonably warm weather has resulted in ticks feeding earlier than usual this year.
Adel Talaat (Pathobiological Sciences) was featured in a story on UWUM radio about his team's efforts to develop innovative treatments and prevention strategies for bird flu.
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April 4 -5
Board of Visitors Meeting
Invite Only
April 10
Spring Research Day
Noon-6 pm
SVM Second floor
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April 19
Dean’s Get Together
4:30-6 pm
SVM second floor
April 20
Celebration of Excellence Banquet
April 20 at 6 pm
Varsity Hall, Union South
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