Greetings, CVM Community —
The spring 2023 issue of INSIGHTS included my first letter in the magazine. Now, after more than a full year in my role as interim dean, I have been able to witness the wide variety of ways that faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the College support its mission. In this issue, we highlight some of these individuals who exemplify what it means to:
Every year, veterinarians, students, and volunteers across the United States come together to perform sterilization surgeries in rural Mexican communities. The trip this past January benefited these underserved areas while providing unique experiences to students. Another individual who aims to provide students with positive experiences is Dr. Coretta Cosby Patterson, who currently serves as the director of the office of professional success at The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Patterson, who is a former MSU resident and current member of the Alumni Advisory Council at the College, encourages her students to find passion within the profession. MSU veterinary nursing student Kendra Cournaya has done just that, weaving together a love of art with her career path.
DiscoverMichigan State’s partnership with the National Institutes of Health Comparative Biomedical Scientist Training Program allows scholars to gain skills needed to translate findings from one species to another. Also generating new knowledge is the Olympus VS200 research slide scanner recently installed in the Laboratory for Toxicologic and Environmental Pathology, which has greatly improved the lab’s microscopic imaging capabilities.
Briana Champagne, who graduated from the Vet Nursing Program in 2015, is paying it forward by serving her community as a licensed veterinary technician and by mentoring students through the Penn Foster Veterinary Technician Program. Dr. William Chung is another professional who has recently made MSU proud. The surgical resident received three awards at a summit put on by the American College of Veterinary Surgery, an accomplishment his peers are calling the “triple crown.” If that name stirred up images of horses in your mind, we’ve got that topic covered in this issue as well! As foal season ramps up, the Large Animal Clinic is leveraging their multiple specialty services to treat foals requiring critical care.
ProtectDr. Stephanie French illustrates our mission to Protect in multiple ways. In addition to protecting public health through her work at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, French is a major in the United States Army Reserve. She balances her diagnostic duties with Army missions, such as assessing the safety of food and water supplies at military facilities in foreign nations. Also on a mission to ensure food safety is Paul Zeltzer, a 2021 Master of Science in Food Safety graduate, who has just been published in the Journal of Dairy Science. In his article, Zeltzer investigates whether it is appropriate to use the term “milk” on packaging for plant-based dairy-like products.
I hope these stories give you a glimpse into the countless ways that Spartans are enacting our mission. We’re proud to have these impressive individuals in our community, just as we are proud to have such a supportive, enthusiastic network of alumni and friends.
Douglas A. Freeman DVM, PhD,
Diplomate Emeritus ACT
Interim Dean,
College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University