Update from the Dean’s OfficeDear Friends,
Spring has finally come to Fort Collins and the Colorado State University campus is in full bloom as our students prepare for their final exams and anxiously await the celebration of commencement on May 15, 16 and 17. We look forward to welcoming to campus the families and friends of our professional, graduate and undergraduate students and are keeping our fingers crossed for beautiful weather.
Commencement activities, begin Thursday evening with a hooding ceremony for our Professional Veterinary Medical students. At 8 a.m. Friday, they will receive their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees at Moby Arena. The Graduate School will hold its commencement at 3 p.m., also at Moby Arena; and our environmental health, biomedical sciences and microbiology undergraduate students will receive their Bachelor of Science degrees in the evening at the Lory Student Center Main Ballroom with the ceremony beginning at 7:30 p.m. This year, the College is graduating 77 undergraduates in our bachelor’s degree majors; 59 graduate students (23 of whom will participate in commencement ceremonies but who officially graduate after summer term); and 136 Professional Veterinary Medical students. Congratulations to each of our outstanding students.
I’d also like to congratulate our undergraduate students who participated in the Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity. Six of our students were recognized with honors designations, and CVMBS students comprised nearly 30 percent of the entries overall (see related article). Congratulations also go out to our faculty and staff members who were recognized for their research, academic and service endeavors during the Celebrate Colorado State! luncheon and the CVMBS Scholarship and Awards Banquet. Dr. Mo Salman and Dr. Dick Bowen received highly prestigious University-level awards for their contributions to our students and the greater global community (see related articles).
In other news, last month, the College hosted the members of the American Veterinary Medical Association Accreditation Site Visit Team. As they prepared to leave, they shared with me positive comments about our excellent programs and outstanding students, staff and faculty. I want to thank each of you for your participation in all steps of the accreditation review process which began last September with the preparation of a detailed self-study document. The site visit team will now prepare a report and submit it to the AVMA Council on Education for review and final action. The Council will meet in late September, after which we will receive the decision on our accreditation status.
Continuing with veterinary medicine news, on May 14 I’ll be traveling to Kansas City to meet with the Foresight Committee where I will represent the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. We will continue discussions on the Veterinary Foresight Report, particularly with regards to the shortage of veterinarians in virtually all areas of the profession.
Best wishes to each of you for a safe, enjoyable and productive summer. Congratulations again to all of our graduates and we hope you keep in touch with your alma mater. For our returning students, we look forward to seeing you back on campus in the fall.
Best Regards
Lance Perryman, DVM, PhD
Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
