E-Insight

August 2005

Update from the Dean’s Office

Dear Friends,

I know that the actual days in summer don’t change every year, but every year summer sure seems to get shorter and shorter. This year is no different. By the end of July, summer seemed a distant memory as we focused on the 2005/2006 academic year that would be starting in a few short weeks. Since we are almost there, I’d like to welcome all students, staff and faculty back to campus and I hope your summer gave you a break from your studies and daily routines, and left you feeling reinvigorated.

August will be a busy month with plenty of orientations for new students and celebrations for returning students. The new semester will start with our MBA/DVM welcome, orientation for our Vet Start Students, orientation for our Professional Veterinary Medical students, and the Ram Welcome for all undergraduates. Classes begin on Aug. 22 and on Aug. 27 we’ll have our annual PVM barbecue with all the fixings for our veterinary students. A highlight of this event is watching the Executive Council members try not to burn the burgers and hot dogs.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to ask everyone to review the University’s strategic plan now available for comment at http://www.president.colostate.edu/strategicplanning/index.asp. I have drafted a complementary strategic plan for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences which you can view at http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/strategicplan/plan.pdf. You will be prompted to login with your COLOSTATE\name ID and associated password. You will notice our college plan is organized in parallel with the Executive Summary of Goals in the University document. I ask for your suggestions and feedback on both these plans as they are the roadmaps to the vision and goals the University and College have set as we journey toward continued excellence.

In other news, I’d like to recognize our infectious diseases research team in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology which is part of an international consortium that received one of 49 grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to combat devastating illnesses in developing countries. Our inclusion in this consortium, based at the University of California-Irvine, speaks to the reputation and expertise of our faculty, and their global influence on some of the most important diseases of our time. You can read more about the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative in this edition of E-Insight.

Again, I’d like to welcome each of you back to Colorado State University and the Fort Collins community. I wish you the best in all your endeavors this year and look forward to seeing you at one of our College gatherings.

With Best Regards,

Lance Perryman, DVM, PhD
Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences