Dear Friends,
Spring is finally arriving at the Colorado State University campus, heralded by the return of warmer days, nesting geese, and a busy campus calendar. April begins the countdown to graduation, including such events as the Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity, the Green and Gold Gala, the CVMBS Scholarship and Awards banquet, Veterinary Teaching Hospital Open House, our faculty and staff spring meeting, and so much more. Be sure to check out our College calendar to keep apprised of all the goings-on.
Another harbinger of spring was placed firmly in my hands a couple of weeks ago when I had the opportunity to accompany Dr. David Van Metre to a commercial sheep operation in Wyoming for lambing season. Dr. Van Metre and Dr. Tony Knight head north each spring to bring four groups of veterinary students for weeklong lambing management rotations. I made the trip with soon-to-be-DVMs Kate Elliott, Samantha Hollingshead, Lindsay Helvey, and Kristen Holmes; and Jeruesha Nichols, who is a veterinary technician at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
The students provided veterinary services to ewes that were lambing, including treating dsytocia, providing newborn lamb care including immunizations, and adult ewe care. While at the ranch, mostly catching lambs, I had the opportunity to reflect back on my 4-H days raising young sheep, and to refresh my knowledge of sheep disease and complications of lambing for both the ewe and the lamb. Dr. Van Metre and Dr. Knight do an excellent job providing an incredible learning opportunity for our students, and I was very impressed by our dedicated faculty members and talented students.
This month, we look forward to the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association’s Spring Leadership Conference on April 30 and May 1. I hope to see many of our students and faculty members in Vail for this opportunity to learn and network with the professional veterinary community. Also, on Tuesday, April 20, I encourage all faculty and staff members to attend the Spring Faculty/Staff Meeting, scheduled for 4:15 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel. I will be bringing you up to date on the most recent information regarding next year’s budget, reviewing good news from the development and research fronts, and more.
On a final note, one of our Clinical Sciences faculty members, Dr. Simon Turner, was out enjoying a beautiful spring day on his bike on March 28 when he was struck by a car. Dr. Turner remains in the intensive care unit at the Medical Center of the Rockies, though his condition is guardedly improving. Our thoughts are with Dr. Turner and his wife Dr. Ann Wagner as they confront the long road to recovery ahead. Dr. Wagner has requested no cards, flowers or visitors for the time being, though she is deeply appreciative of all the e-mail messages she and Dr. Turner have received from well-wishers. If you would like to read updates on Dr. Turner's condition, visit http://simonturnerupdates.blogspot.com/.
Best Regards,
Dr. Lance Perryman
Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
