E-Insight

August 2006

Update from the Dean’s Office

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the August edition of E-Insight and to the start of the 2006/2007 academic year at Colorado State University. After a relatively quiet July, the College is anticipating the return of students to its lecture halls, laboratories and classrooms. Construction and renovation projects are wrapping up as we welcome first-time and returning students to new and improved facilities designed to enhance their educational experience.

In College news, we have gone through the first round of architectural firm selection for the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The second review should be completed by Aug. 31 at which point a firm will be selected. Drs. Terry Nett and Ken Blehm are co-chairing the building committee and I’d like to thank them for all their efforts in getting the new D-Lab off to a great start.

In July, I and other faculty and staff, attended the American Veterinary Medical Association’s annual convention. The College hosted an alumni reception and we had an excellent turnout. It was wonderful to see so many of our alumni there. Dr. Roger Mahr took over as the new president for the AVMA and announced his theme of the year “One World, One Health, One Medicine.” While private practice has always been the backbone of the profession, Dr. Mahr emphasized that there are other important things the profession must do to improve human and animal health.

This focus reflects the priorities of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, especially with the Veterinary Workforce Expansion Act, and I am excited at the wonderful opportunities for the AAVMC and AVMA to work together during the coming year. Also, with regards to the AAVMC, the association’s foresight analysis project concluded with formal meetings on July 10 and 11 (see related articles in the March and April editions of E-Insight). The foresight analysis consultants are writing up a final report which should be available in November.

I’d also like to remind everyone about the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association’s annual conference scheduled for Sept. 9-13 in Keystone. Members of our faculty and staff will be in attendance as well as delivering continuing education presentations. For more on the conference, you can visit the CVMA’s Web site at www.colovma.org.

In University news, interviews for the office of Vice Provost for Outreach and Strategic Partnerships have been completed, though no announcement has been made regarding the person to be hired. Interviews for the Vice President for Research were completed on July 21, and we are awaiting an announcement on that as well.

Again, welcome to all those who are just starting out at Colorado State University, including new faculty and staff, and welcome back to our returning students. We hope all of you have a productive and educational fall semester.

Best Regards,

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