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Celebrating 100 Years of
Historical Glimpses Into Our Past

Highlights of a Century of Scientific Discovery and Innovation

Since 1907, the college has been responsible for numerous “firsts” that highlight our century old mission to provide the Hope Care Cures in animal and human health.

• In 1916, the first application of x-rays to diagnose equine injuries in any veterinary school in the West took place with an x-ray of a horse’s hoof,

• Established the Department of Microbiology with an undergraduate major in microbiolgy about 1952,

• The first courses in the world taught in veterinary medical ethics,

• The nation’s first and only radiology radiation biology department in a veterinary school,

• Home to the first calves produced by artificial insemination in which researcher pre-determined the sex of calves,

• First university to produce twin foals by splitting a single embryo,

• The first university veterinary hospital to successfully perform open heart surgery on dogs,

• The first university to use animal tumors as models for human disease and human cancer therapy,

• Created a limb-sparing technique to treat osteosarcoma, a malignant tumor of long bones, now widely adopted and significantly increasing the likelihood that children diagnosed with osteosarcoma will be Cured,

• Department of Environmental Health and Radiological Sciences was the first to develop a veterinary school program of radiation therapy for companion animal tumors, and home to the first veterinary oncologist in the United States,

• The Equine Clinical Service pioneered a surgical technique to treat equine colic,

• The Gail Holmes Equine Orthopaedic Center has the first equine-dedicated MRI in the USA.

• Established the leading Health and Safety Consultation Program in the United States, helping to create safer and healthier work environments in small businesses in Colorado, also the first in the nation to be invited to New York to manage on-site health and safety operations at the 9/11 recovery site for the World Trade Center,

• Developed a test to evaluate joint cartilage, allowing for the identification of early stages of arthritis in animals.

First Veterinarian in Space

The College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences was honored to have Dr. Martin Fettman as a faculty member for over 25 years. He served as Associate Dean for the Professional Veterinary Medical Program, professor, clinical pathologist and clinical nutritionist for the College.

One of Dr. Fettman’s many outstanding accomplishments while at CSU was his two-year-tour-of-duty with NASA. Dr. Fettman was selected as a payload specialist candidate in December 1991, as the prime payload specialist for Spacelab Life Sciences-2 in October 1992, and flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-58 mission in October 1993.

When the official announcement came in late 1992 that Dr. Fettman would be the first veterinarian in space, one colleague said it was like the College had won the Super Bowl. It was truly an honor for Colorado State University. Several faculty, staff and students from CSU traveled to Florida to watch the lift-off.

While in space, he conducted life sciences research and performed experiments focusing on the cardiovascular, regulatory and musculosketetal systems of the body. His primary focus was to better understand what potential adverse effects there are for humans who spend long periods of time in space. Each time astronauts rocket into space, their bodies adapt to the unique weightlessness environment and then must readapt to Earth’s gravity. The Space Life Sciences mission worked to understand the mechanisms responsible for that adaptation.

Dr. Fettman has been an exemplary role model for both faculty and students at CSU and we gratefully acknowledge the many honors and accomplishments he brought to our College.

If you broke your leg 100 years ago your doctor would not have sent you for an x-rays…they did not exist!

In 1895 German Scientist William Roentgen accidentally discovered the phenomenon of x-rays while studying cathode rays. Twenty one years later (1916) and half a world away (Fort Collins, Colorado), Harry Kingman, D.V.M., took the first radiograph of a horse’s hoof and the Veterinary Sciences Department at the Colorado Agricultural College saw both the possibilities of x-rays as a useful diagnostic tool, and the very beginning of the Department of Radiology and Radiation Biology.

Over the next 40 years there were advances in the teaching and clinical use of radiology as well as in x-ray equipment. In 1958, William Carlson, D.V.M., a graduate from Colorado A & M College, became the College’s first full-time radiologist. At the same time, a young D.V.M., Edward Gillette came to CSU and was the first graduate student to receive a MS and PhD in radiology from Colorado State.

With a clinical and teaching program in place, Drs. Carlson and Gillette expanded their program to incorporate research. In 1964, with a thriving research program up and running the Department of Radiology and Radiation Biology was officially launched. The Department grew rapidly. It attracted nationally and internationally renowned scientists and developed into one of the most respected academic programs in radiological sciences in the country.

In addition to outside research work, the Department developed a close relationship with the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, collaborating on numerous research endeavors including a new cancer biology radiation program. The Department’s emphasis has changed over time from an understanding of radiation and environment, to a stronger focus on cancer biology including radiation as a known carcinogen and radiation as a diagnostic and treatment tool.

In 2002, the Department of Radiology and Radiation Biology was united with the Department of Environmental Health to create the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences. This merging has allowed for an exchange of innovative ideas that advance research in radiology and address pressing needs in environmental health.

100 Year Educational Collaboration and Friendship
with the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association

1928 Colorado VMA Meeting at Colorado A & M College

During the fall term of 1907, students founded their own professional society, naming it the Veterinary Medical Association. From its inception, this organization had an important educational dimension. Students gathered every Monday night to hear presentations from their peers, faculty members, and special guests.

Talks by members of the departmental faculty were a popular feature of the Monday night gatherings. On one occasion, Dr. Kaupp reminisced about an early professional experience when, after dissecting a rabid rabbit, he had been obliged to treat himself for the disease. Another time, Dr. C.L. Barnes discussed some of the tactics perpetrated by butchers and slaughterhouse owners in order to deceive the meat inspector. Personal anecdotes of this kind often communicated information that had considerable practical value for students.

A sense of service and opportunities to broaden one’s professional knowledge became synonymous with membership in the Veterinary Medical Association. The VMA epitomized the spirit characteristic of veterinary students at Colorado Agricultural College, and within three-and-a-half years after the society’s founding, every veterinary major had joined its ranks.

In 1907, the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) was established. This organization was composed of practicing professional veterinarians who were always invited to the College’s Veterinary Medical Association main event, the annual VMA Banquet and Ball. Thus began the 100 year collaboration between the College and the CVMA. The Colorado Veterinary Medical Association sometimes met in Fort Collins at the College (picture below is Of the CVMA meeting held at the College in 1928), creating the opportunity for established professional veterinarians to regularly attend functions of the student organization.

Source: J. Dennis McGuire, James E. Hansen II. Chiron’s Times. A History of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. Colorado State University, 1983.

Three Generations of Veterinary Excellence

Dr. Richard C. Pflueger, Colorado State University D.V.M. Class of 1968, is a third generation D.V.M. graduate from our College. His reflections about his family’s hard work, dedication and accomplishments provide a wonderful example of the tradition of pride our alumni bring to our College.

First Generation

Dr. Arthur Neil Carroll hung his “shingle” outside a livery stable in Pueblo, Colorado in June 1912, just days after receiving his diploma from Dr. George Glover at graduation from the three-year course of study at Colorado Veterinary College. He initially specialized in draft horses, often riding to outlying ranches on his buckboard. In the ensuing years his practice encompassed all aspects of veterinary medicine. In addition to meeting the growing demands of his practice Dr. Carroll began working for the Pueblo City-County Health Department in 1914. He was the county’s only meat and milk inspector for many years. Traveling to remote areas by horse and buggy, he took tuberculin tests on all milk sold locally. Dr. Carroll served as President of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association in 1920 and was appointed to the Colorado Board of Veterinary Examiners in 1928 where he served for one of the longest terms in the history of the state. Dr. Carroll passed away in 1976 after practicing veterinary medicine in Colorado for 63 years. He was truly one of the pioneers of veterinary medicine in our state.

Second Generation

Dr. Walter D. Carroll served as a veterinarian in the United States Army in Korea following his graduation from Colorado A&M College in 1944. After completing his military service, he returned to Pueblo, Colorado and joined his father’s veterinary hospital where he practiced until his retirement in 1979.

Third Generation

Dr. Richard C. Pflueger also served in the military following his graduation from the newly named College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1968. He spent two years as a Captain in the United Stated Army Veterinary Corps. He then returned to his home state of New Mexico and worked as an associate veterinarian for several years before starting his own practice in 1976. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Dr. Pflueger has been very active in his state veterinary medical association, serving as President of the New Mexico Veterinary Medical Association in 2005. He currently has a mobile small animal practice in the greater Albuquerque area. Dr. Pflueger gratefully acknowledges the insight, vision and dedication given to him by his grandfather and uncle who provided him with a “guiding light and sense of pride in a noble profession.”

Our thanks to Dr. Pflueger for making his family’s history part of our 100th Anniversary celebration.

Training Veterinarians at C.A.C. ~
Veterinary Sciences “Brochure” - early 1920’s

Your talents are the raw material of your life’s stock in trade. Convert them into finished products by education before offering them for sale.

SPHERE OF VETERINARIAN EVER BROADENING

This little booklet is published with the view of placing before prospective students, a brief statement of the course in Veterinary Medicine at the Colorado Agricultural College, and the opportunities for graduate veterinarians.

The sphere of usefulness of the trained veterinarian is constantly becoming broader and his services are marked by a commensurate appreciation and remuneration. His work is in the interest of the animal wealth and the public health. The veterinary profession, like all of the others, has had to work its way by proving its worth and importance.

The social stigma on the one time “hoss doctor” is gone forever. The qualified veterinarian of today is looked upon as a professional man, as evidenced by his rank in the army, his employment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and his social standing in all walks of life. There is no better opening for the ambitious young man of character. The demand for veterinarians, even before the war, far exceeded the supply. Livestock centers in all of the states are calling for veterinarians, that can not be supplied, likewise the U.S. Bureau of Animal Industry.

While the gas engine may in a large measure eliminate the horse, there have been created so many other avenues of service that the usefulness of the trained veterinarian must be looked upon as being only in its infancy. The demand for food-producing animals must increase in proportion to the ever growing population and the future of the veterinarian in livestock conservation, and as a guardian of the public health, is assured.

OPPORTUNITIES

Veterinarians in the army have the rank and privileges of second lieutenant with a salary of $1,700 a year and allowances. They are subject to promotion to rank of major with a salary of $4,000 a year. Their duties are to inspect all horses purchased for the army and to have veterinary supervision of the same. They inspect all foodstuffs for the remount and see that diseased meats do not reach the men in service.

The U.S. Bureau of Animal Industry employees many men as meat inspectors, quarantine officers, in the investigation and control of animal diseases. Salaries begin at $1,500 per annum.

Veterinarians find employment in many other ways such as: State and Deputy State Veterinarians, City and County Veterinarians, Extension and Experiment Station Veterinarians, Instructors in Veterinary Colleges, Producers of Biological Products, Special Hog Cholera Eradication Agents, Veterinarians to large corporations, Counselors to breeders and importers, General Practitioners.

CONDITIONS OF MATRICULATION

Students are admitted to the college either upon certificates from an accredited high school or upon examination. Fifteen credits are required for admission. Students may be admitted conditionally with fourteen credits. The credits presented must represent two years of science. For Particulars respecting matriculation and course study write to the college for a catalogue

GENERAL INFORMATION

There are in the United States eleven private and ten state veterinary colleges that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Veterinary medical Association. Colorado is rated among the best and her graduates are recognized everywhere.

A high school education is necessary for matriculation and the course covers four years of nine months each year. Military drill is not required of students in Veterinary Medicine in the junior and senior years. Under special order from the war department veterinary students of draft age may enlist in the Medical Enlisted Reserve Corps, which is a deferred classifications and the effect of which is to grant exemption from draft until the completion of the course, when they must report for service.

There are six veterinarians on the veterinary faculty, but several subjects are taken in other departments of the college. The Veterinary faculty and the Y.M.C.A. are especially active in helping students secure work to help pay part of their expenses. Many of the best homes in Fort Collins are open to students for room and board, which costs from $20 to $30 per month.

The college authorities assume that a young man that wants an education enough to come to college for it, will be actuated by a high sens of honor and will conduct himself as a gentleman at all times. Students are accepted on this assumption and treated accordingly. Hazing is prohibited by state law.

The Veterinary Medical Association meets in the pathology building Monday evenings and is attend by all students and instructors of the Veterinary Division.

CVMBS Mission of Service

Service, one of the three missions of Colorado State University (along with Teaching, Research) has always been a key part of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The extension service ideal of promoting the dissemination of knowledge beyond the university campus began within this College with Dr. George Glover over 100 years ago.

Dr. Glover strongly believed that the veterinary college should perform a major service role. In his opinion, the department had an obligation to assist farmers and ranchers, and to safeguard the food supply. In addition to the food inspections responsibilities for the city of Fort Collins, the veterinary faculty served Colorado through extension service by participating in farmers’ institutes and furnishing articles on practical subjects for release by the local newspapers.

The College’s extension service expanded from local to national in the early decades of 20th Century and after World War II took a broader direction that transcended local, regional and even national concerns to embrace a worldwide constituency.

In 1957 Professor O.R. Adams, head of the Clinics and Surgery Department, involved veterinary medicine faculty in a major international extension service effort in Kenya, Africa. Dr. Adams had obtained a Fulbright grant for research and teaching in Kenya. The Fulbright award assigned Dr. Adams to the faculty of Makerere Veterinary College in Kabete, Kenya for the 1957-58 school year – an institution whose veterinary program would eventually be absorbed by the Royal College at Nairobi. At Makerere, Dr. Adams helped to organize the school’s largest animal and ambulatory clinic similar to American veterinary institutions. His research involved foot-and-mouth disease, riderspest in cattle and African swine fever.

We take pride in our 100 years of extension service that has been a foundation of our history and that our mission of service continues today, stronger than ever.

Extension Service in Action Today

Dr. Dean Hendrickson Associate Professor and veterinary surgeon in the Department of Clinical Sciences leads surgeries with a team of experts performing vasectomies on wild elephants in parks and land reserves in South Africa to curb the need for culling entire families of the species. African officials say many areas are overpopulated by thousands of elephants, a rate of overpopulation that threatens the biodiversity, habitat and success of other species. Source: E-Insight, August 2005

Article Source: J. Dennis McGuire, James E. Hansen II. Chiron’s Times. A History of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. Colorado State University, 1983.

From Specimens to Computers:
The Virtual World of Veterinary Anatomy

Throughout the College’s history, anatomy has been an integral part of the curriculum.

The musty smell of formaldehyde overwhelms their senses as the first students of the Colorado Agricultural College of Veterinary Sciences enter the blood-stained cement floor of their classroom. Eager to learn, and oblivious of the potential health hazards surrounding them, the students, without gloves or face masks, begin work dissecting.

Today, in the Gross Anatomy Laboratory in the Anatomy/Zoology Building, students study the anatomy of a dog’s head. They peel away layers of skin, muscle and fat to reveal hidden structures and bone. However, unlike the Anatomy laboratory for students 100 years ago, today’s students have the advantage of some amazing technology that allows skin, muscle and fat to be peeled away, not on a real dog but on a virtual canine.

While students of 2007 may have a much bigger portion on their plate in terms of quantity of material they must learn during their veterinary training or to obtain a degree in fields of biomedical sciences, they also have improved tools to make that learning possible. And, while digital images of canines might make for easier clean up in the anatomy laboratory, students still must work with the real thing – after all, technology can only take you so far.

Dr. Ray Whalen, Colorado State University Distinguished Professor, has created a computer simulated anatomy laboratory DVD to enhance the learning environment in anatomy laboratory settings. Traditional settings provide limited access to instructors, so the DVD enables students to answer most questions for themselves while gaining confidence in their knowledge of functional anatomy.

Identify OLD Stuff 100th Anniversary CONTEST #2

How much do you know about old veterinary or laboratory instruments/equipment?

Congratulations to the contest winners: Linda Jones, Ann Killpack and Paula Morgan.

The instrument is a device for intubating the esophagues, then rumen, of an adult bovine for administering drugs or enabling eructation" (belching of gas), or simply "tubing a cow".

Thanks again to Dr. Robert Phillips (D.V.M. Class of 1961) for donating this puzzler!

Have you had the opportunity to stop by our College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences History exhibit located in the Glover Gallery in the Pathology Building? You will find some great old instruments and displays donated by our alumni. In fact, some of the old instruments and equipment that has been donated are rather difficult to identify!

Life at CAC Veterinary School in 1941

So many of our Alumni have wonderful stories about what it was like while they were in veterinary school. Take a moment to go back in time to 1940-1941 with Dr. Clayton Mikkelson (DVM Class of 1941) as he reflects on life as a veterinary student at Colorado A & M College...

School was tough and required many hours of class work and study but I enjoyed the whole process. Classes were from 8:00am - 5:00pm five days a week the first two years and the last two years were from 8:00am - 5:00pm weekdays, 8:00am - Noon on Saturday, and 8:00am - 10:00am on Sunday. The instructor recommended two hours of home study for each hour of class but I soon discovered there were not enough hours in the day to do all of the studying was required. Most all of the subjects were very interesting which eased the problem.

The summer between my third and fourth year of veterinary school I was employed by the College and worked in the Vet School. Alone, I had to do the janitor work, ordering the medications, feeding and treating the patients along with assisting the doctor on duty in surgery. I lived in the Vet Hospital on campus and had one day off in three months. I worked about twenty hours a day and lost thirty pounds in weight, but the experience was invaluable for me. My pay was $50/month with a room. When school started they hired three classmates to live with me in a 10'x14' room with two bunk beds and a small closet. In the winter the central heating plant was turned down on weekends so sometimes we heated the room by building a fire in the waste basket. Our room was next to the autopsy room and for breakfast we had a 5¢ day-old bear claw and coffee that we heated in the autopsy room which had a two burner gas stove on the floor. Often we would have to roll a dead sheep or calf off the stove in order to use it to make the coffee. Some of our extra spending money was obtained by skinning the dead sheep that had been autopsied and selling the pelts for 25¢ each.

There were only thirty students in our class so we received more concentrated attention from the instructors than they do now with the larger classes. We were taught many of the procedures by doing them rather than being shown how to do it. There were four clinicians at the Vet Hospital and six instructors teaching the basic subjects. All the equipment was basic and a graduate could duplicate it after graduation without “breaking the bank” in contrast to all the sophisticated machinery that they have now which no one can duplicate without spending many thousands of dollars. My contention is that these older instructors taught how us how to use our heads instead of so much equipment. I am deeply grateful to each and every professor that was my mentor.

Graduating the 27th of May, 1941, and winning all the honorary awards a vet student could get for having the highest grades throughout all four years of college, I made my folks real happy and I didn’t feel too bad myself for a fifteen dollar a month amateur Arizona cowboy.

Looking back on my over 50 years in practice, I now know that graduation is just a festival honoring the books and is really the day your real education begins.

Excerpt from Reflections on Veterinary School at CSU D.V.M. Class of 1941 graduate Clayton E. Mikkelson, D.V.M. by Clayton E Mikkelson, D.V.M. Class of 1941 (written in 1995)

Make Sure Someone Sees You Turn in Your Final Exam

In 1929 Evelyn Hermann, daughter of DVM Class of 1910 graduate Dr. August Hermann, entered veterinary school. While Miss Hermann had the support of many members of the faculty, some opposed her presence in the program. Chief among Miss Hermann’s worries was one professor in particular, Dr. Farquharson (known as “The Bull”), who simply did not believe that women belonged in the profession.

The first year that Miss Herman took anatomy, Dr. Farquharson flunked her, an action she recalled later as justified. The second year, despite diligent preparation, she again received a failing grade when Farquharson claimed that she had not turned in her final examination --- an assertion that several male classmates who had taken the test at the same time knew to be untrue. Upon learning of the instructor’s unjustified action, her furious father threatened to withdraw his daughter from the College and send her to veterinary school in Kansas. As a result, the Dean promised to investigate the matter and after questioning student witnesses, who confirmed Miss Hermann’s story, overruled Farquharson and passed her himself.

During her last two years of the program, Miss Hermann avoided many foreseeable objections to her presence by specializing in small animal medicine. Most veterinarians at that time felt that women lacked the strength to wrestle a large animal to the ground and restrain it (Dr. Farquharson could down a horse or a bull with one hand). Veterinary professors also felt uncomfortable about requiring a woman to perform a rectal examination on a large animal.

As a small animal specialist, Miss Hermann, who weighed less than 100 pounds, did not have to endure Farquharson’s horseshoeing class nor travel with the male classmates on large animal rotations.

In 1932 Evelyn Hermann became the Colorado Agricultural College’s first female graduate. Soon thereafter, she married Hilan F. Keagy, a CAC DVM Class of 1930 graduate who had gone to California to establish a veterinary practice. Despite financial difficulties related to the Great Depression, Keagy succeeded in borrowing money to develop a thriving small animal practice located in Beverly Hills. The Drs. Keagy soon boasted an exclusive Hollywood clientele, including Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, and Groucho Marx.

Source: J. Dennis McGuire, James E. Hansen II. Chiron’s Times. A History of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. Colorado State University, 1983.

Colleges/Schools of Veterinary Medicine in the United States

As you know, our College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is one of many accredited Colleges/Schools of Veterinary Medicine in the U.S. We thought it would be a fun history lesson to see how much you know about our fellow veterinary colleges...

1. CVMBS is one of how many accredited veterinary colleges/schools in the U.S.?
2. What year was the Colorado Agriculture College accredited?
3. What was the first college to become accredited? Where is it located? What year was it accredited?
4. What is the latest college to be accredited? Where is it located? What year was it accredited?
5. How many veterinary colleges were accredited prior to our college?
6. What year did our college become the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences?
7. How many other colleges in the U.S. include biomedical sciences within their college of veterinary medicine?
8. Name the City and State where the following College/Schools of Veterinary Medicine are located: University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine? Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine? University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine?

Colleges/Schools of Veterinary Medicine in the United States (Listed by Date of Accreditation)

• 1868 - Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine - Ithaca, New York
• 1879 - Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Ames, Iowa
• 1884 - University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine - Columbia, Missouri
• 1884 - University of Pennsylvania, Veterinary Medicine - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 1885 - The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Columbus, Ohio
• 1892 - Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine - Auburn, Alabama
• 1899 - Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Pullman, Washington
• 1905 - Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Manhattan, Kansas
• 1907 - Colorado A & M College School of Veterinary Medicine - Fort Collins, Colorado
(1967 Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences)

• 1910 - Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Lansing, Michigan
• 1916 - Texas A & M University College of Veterinary Medicine - College Station, Texas
• 1944 - University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine - Urbana, Illinois
• 1945 - Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine - Tuskegee, Alabama
• 1946 - University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine - Athens, Georgia
• 1947 - Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Stillwater, Oklahoma
• 1948 - University of California-Davis College of Veterinary Medicine - Davis, California
• 1957 - Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine - West Lafayette, Indiana
• 1957 - University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine - Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1965 - University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine - Gainesville, Florida
• 1967 - Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• 1974 - Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Mississippi State, MS
• 1976 - University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine - Knoxville, Tennessee
• 1978 - Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine - North Grafton, MA
• 1979 - University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine - Madison, Wisconsin
• 1980 - Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Corvallis, Oregon
• 1981 - North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Raleigh, North Carolina
• 1990 - Virginia/Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine - College Park, Maryland
• 1998 - Western University of Health Sciences Veterinary Medicine - Pomona, California

Answers:
(1) 28 (2) 1907 (3) Cornell (3b) Ithaca, NY (3c) 1868; (4) Western University of Health Sci (4b) Pomona, CA (4c) 1998; (5) 8 Colleges; (6) 1967; (7) none (8a) Madison, WI; (8b) Medford, MA; (8c) Gainesville, FL

Harry A. Gorman, D.V.M. Class of 1939

Dr. Harry Gorman was honored in 2001 as he was inducted as one of our College’s Distinguished Faculty. His list of professional achievements is long and diverse, and received the foundation of his illustrious career at CSU well over half a century ago. Immediately after graduation in 1939, as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from CSU, Dr.Gorman, a ROTC officer, was called to active duty overseas. When a bomb broke a sea-wall on a Netherlands island, trapping citizens and livestock, Dr. Gorman led a contingent of soldiers who saved and vaccinated over a million head of cattle. For his work, Dr. Gorman was knighted by the Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

After the war, Dr. Gorman returned to the United Stated and continued his military career. As a military veterinarian, Dr. Gorman had a special interest in and researched canine hip dysplasia, a disorder common to German Shepard guard dogs. In 1956, he developed the first canine prosthetic hip joint, receiving AVMA recognition for this landmark discovery. He then worked in collaboration with human medicine and contributed the adaptation of his model for a prosthetic hip joint that was adapted for humans.

Dr. Gorman’s research efforts then turned to working with colleagues at the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, to define physiological problems that occur during space travel. His efforts lead to his pioneering medical electronics telemetry by wiring animals in order to monitor physical functions.

Dr. Gorman was very proud of his work in this area and felt his research had truly advanced the space program when he recalled: “Telemetry showed that during ascent, there was a lot of vibration, but the craft passed through that vibration stage and smoothed out again as it went up. When Alan Shepard made the first manned flight, he experienced the same vibrations…Shepard said afterward that he had had his thumb on the ejection button when the craft began to shake. But he remembered the animal data, which showed that the stage would pass… Had he ejected, he would have set the space program back by a matter of years.”

Dr. Gorman returned home to his alma mater in 1964 to teach orthopedic surgery and bioinstrumentation as well as pursue research interests including additional work with NASA. Dr. Harry Gorman’s amazing professional career accomplishments bring pride and great honor to our College and exemplify why our alumni maintain a reputation of excellence throughout the world.

A display of Dr. Gorman’s work on canine and human hip dysplasia was donated to the College and is part of our Glover Gallery display in the Pathology Building.

First Veterinary Ethics Course

When Dr. Glover first designed the veterinary curriculum in 1907, he included horseshoeing… but he never considered a course in veterinary ethics. CVMBS made history 69 years later when the College introduced the very first veterinary ethics course and in 1978 the course became a requirement for first year students. Our College, and its contributors, were the first in the world to recognize the importance of ethics in veterinary medicine. Veterinary programs around the world have followed our lead.

This breakthrough achievement can be attributed to Dr. Bernard Rollin, Professor in the Department of Philosophy, with joint appointments in the Departments of Animal Sciences and Clinical Sciences. Dr. Rollin spearheaded the reform not only at CSU but all over the world. In fact, Nature magazine named the University the best institution for animal treatment in the country.

Dr. Rollin, known as the “father of veterinary ethics,” was a major contributor to the 1985 Animal Welfare Act, which regulates the veterinary and scientific treatment of animals. In addition to multiple papers, books and prestigious awards, he received the Robert R. Shomer Award for Achievement in Veterinary Medical Ethics from the Society of Veterinary Medical Ethics in 2006.

As Dean Perryman stated in Insight Magazine: “Colorado State University and the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences have been incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Rollin with us as a leader in animal ethics and as University Bioethicist. Over the years his guidance has led not only this College and CSU to enhanced animal care and ethics, he has been a world leader in the practical application of animal welfare to agriculture, research and education.”

We take pride that our visionary leaders understood the importance of teaching veterinary ethics to our students. As we reflect on all of the major accomplishments of our College over our first 100 years, we truly have made advances that have enhanced science and humanity.

Turpentine… Cayenne Pepper… Axle Grease: Was it enough?

Before CAC established our veterinary program in 1907, farriers and human doctors were the primary source for animal medicine. Unlike the esteem that complements today’s CVMBS veterinary graduates, amateur veterinarians of the late 1800s and early 1900s were an uneducated group of failed blacksmiths, so animals owners had to turn to home remedies that were often used to treat their own families.

In the early 1900s paregoric (a mild opiate) was used for teething puppies; it was also used for babies in the same unhappy state. Castor oil and milk of magnesia were recommended for canine stomach problems—similar to that of humans. Owners often fed sick cats and dogs rice gruel and beef tea, the standard “strengthening foods” used to help cure sick humans.

Housewives, who raised chickens for extra pennies, were advised to have the following drugs on hand at all times: calomel, cayenne, caster oil, catechu, Epsom salt, aconite root, iron, quinine, strychnine, salicylic acid and even axel grease! Crude petroleum was recommended for lice and mites. Even into the late 1920s, turpentine was recommended for internal parasites.

As the 20th century progressed, professional veterinarians treated farm animals that had once been subjected to ambiguous medicines. In the early years our own College saw a rapid increase in patients; by 1910 the number of clinical cases seen at the hospital grew to more than a 1,000 a year!

Looking at our College today and the advances in science, research and animal care over our first 100 years, we should be proud of the remarkable progress made in treating animal disease. Over the past century, thousands of individuals have worked tirelessly to advance the care and treatment of all animals…we have truly come far from the days when using turpentine and cayenne pepper were popular medical treatments.

“A Sophomore Vet Student’s Lament" from 1910

The vet prof is my shepherd and I should not flunk.
He maketh me to sit down beside the specimen and dissect.
He showeth me the things I should cut and should not cut.
He jogs my memory and maketh me to remember many things for their names’ sake.
Yea, though I walk two hours daily in the dissecting room I shall fear no nausea, for I have quit eating meat.
He prepared my quiz for me in the midst of many skeletons.
He anointed my head with encouragement – my bean has long since undergone calcification.
Surely flunks and conditions shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall be a student of vet science forever.

---as it appeared in the Rocky Mountain Collegian, Dec. 11, 1910

CVMBS has been fighting tuberculosis for 100 years

With the recent possibility of bovine tuberculosis in Douglass County, Colo., CVMBS recognizes the efforts of our forefathers in ridding Colorado cattle of the disease. Dr. George Glover made significant strides in recognizing tuberculosis in the College’s cattle herd 100 years ago.

In 1905, Glover made a dramatic demonstration that involved testing the College herd for tuberculosis. Following a preliminary examination which indicated that several animals might be infected, the young veterinarian invited a contingent of Colorado State Board of Agriculture members and other dignitaries to actually witness the slaughter of some extremely valuable livestock.

Glover had some doubts, for the diagnosis was not foolproof; yet he strongly suspected the presence of contagion (tuberculosis). Glancing at the prominent visitors, he took a deep breath, and sank his knife into a suspect cow. Quickly, he reached the internal organs and discovered the lungs and glands to be rotten with disease. Confident of the demonstration’s success, Glover could not resist a flamboyant touch. Carefully removing a nodule in the udder, he held it for his audience to see, then sliced the abnormal growth which burst out a sickening mixture of milk and puss onto the ground. “That,” said Glover “is what you’ve been selling to people for milk.”

Veterinary student life… Has it changed all that much?

As the first students of the Colorado Agricultural College of Veterinary Sciences entered the blood-stained cement floor classroom, the musty smell of formaldehyde overwhelmed their senses. The young men completed the horse dissection without gloves or face masks, oblivious to the potential health hazards. Memorization was their key source of learning with small tablets and pencils hidden in white lab coat pockets for quick notations. Their instructor, one of only three professors, worked 85 hours a week teaching three levels of veterinary students as well as two practical short courses and horse shoeing classes. The lives of veterinary students in 1907 were ruled by a rigorous, three-year program with an average course load of 25 credits a semester. Students, who were required to have a diploma from an accredited high school or its equivalent, brought with them the desire to achieve academic and professional success. Tuition was free to Colorado residents and $25 for out-of-state students. Most students lived in boarding houses, where meals were simple and coal fires kept rooms warm.

From early in the morning until late at night, they studied anatomy using dissected specimens and skeletons, they learned about diseases and learned there was a lot no one knew, they learned about animal reproduction and about agricultural medicine with a heavy emphasis on horses, sheep and cattle. The 27 students in the first class of 1910 were unaware that they were setting the standard of dedication and hard work that would become the trademark of the College for the next 100 years.

They never would have imagined…

The diverse group of aspiring veterinarians arrive early each day to campus, lattes and expensive books in tow, ready for a vigorous day of progressive classes. The students spend years preparing for the competitive application process in order to pursue their dreams of changing the lives of animals and humans alike.

White wires, attached to an Ipod™, fall from the ears of the Professional Veterinary Medicine students as they enter a carpeted, ergonomically specific seating of the electronically “smart” classroom. Eager to learn, Ipods™ click off and laptop computers blink on as the students begin their virtual anatomy class. Working endless hours each day, with a caseload of 21 hours each semester, these students share the commitment, dedication and hard work of their forebears. The protective equipment that they wear, and the dynamic learning systems that they experience are directly linked to the men and women, the science and technology that began with 27 students 100 years ago who held the same aspirations and goals to become doctors of veterinary medicine.

Deans (1907-Present)

In 1907 the Colorado Agricultural College introduced the first full-fledged veterinary program… Today, 100 years later, we celebrate a century of Hope Care Cures. On January 6, 2007, over 350 alumni gathered at the Lory Student Center during the 68th Annual Conference for Veterinarians for our kick-off centennial banquet. Four past CVMBS Deans entertained the audience with stories of nostalgia and pride. After dinner, the keynote speaker, Dr. Robert M. Miller, captivated the crowd with anecdotes and creative cartoons spoofing veterinary medicine. 100 Year Centennial Banquet Pictures

Since its inception, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has been distinguished by outstanding leadership and guidance. The College’s nine Deans have worked tirelessly to build a legacy of excellence as well as establish a century of Hope Care Cures.

Dr. Glover 1907-1934
Dr. I.E. Newsom 1934-1948
Dr. Floyd Cross 1948-1956
Dr. Rue Jensen 1957-1966
Dr. Nicholas H. Booth 1966-1971
Dr. William J. Tietz 1971-1977
Dr. Robert D. Phemister 1977-1983
Dr. John Venable, Interim Dean, 1983-1984
Dr. Gordon Niswender, Interim Dean, 1985-1986
Dr. James L. Voss 1986-2001
Dr. Lance E. Perryman 2001- current

Have an interesting veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences story or fact?
Call the CVMBS 100 Year Celebration Committee at 970.491.0663
Also please check back weekly for new listings.

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