Dear Friends,
The boxes are unpacked (for the most part), the computers are up and running, and life has almost returned to normal at the Office of the Dean. In February, we journeyed back across campus from our temporary quarters in the Student Services Building to our newly renovated and expanded offices in the Anatomy/Zoology Building. It’s good to be back with our students, faculty and staff members, and we look forward to welcoming each of you to our new “home.”
The expansion of the Office of the Dean was precipitated by a site visit from the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2001 which described the facilities of the dean’s office as too small to meet the needs of our students. The AVMA visits us again this April and we are excited to show them our new student services center and main administrative offices. We are very pleased with the results of our newest construction activities and hope they will be, too.
Before we move on from our beautiful new offices, I would like to thank two people who helped take our dreams from drawing board to reality. Per Hogestad, an architect with Colorado State University’s Facilities Management team, is the architect and interior designer of the new offices and you’ll see his artistic influence throughout our new offices. In addition to Hogestad, William Conn played an important role in construction oversight. Conn was formerly with Facilities Management but now works directly for the College as a civil engineer project manager and will be managing our present and future construction projects, including the current construction on the Diagnostic Medicine Center on the South Campus.
The AVMA will be on campus from April 20-24 for a reaccredidation site visit. In preparation for that visit, the College was required to prepare a self-study document and submit that document six weeks in advance of the site visit. I’m pleased to report that the completed document was mailed on February 28, a full week ahead of schedule. Special thanks to all our faculty members, students and staff who participated in the self-study, and especially to Dr. Peter Hellyer, Associate Dean, and Thomas Hadley, Assistant to the Dean, who shouldered the bulk of the efforts.
Prior to that visit, from March 13-19, I’ll be traveling to Washington, D.C., with Drs. Sherry Stewart, Peter Hellyer and Lori Kogan, to attend the annual meeting of Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. Drs. Stewart and Kogan will be making presentations, while Dr. Hellyer and I will be participating in committee meetings and visiting our congressional representatives to discuss national veterinary needs. On March 25, I’ll be in Chicago for the combined executive board meetings of the AVMA and the AAVMC.
I hope each of you has an enjoyable March as we welcome the first day of spring and the promise of warmer weather ahead.
Best Regards,
Lance Perryman, DVM, PhD
Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
