The Dean's Paw-spective: October 2024

Posted October 29, 2024

Welcome to the Dean's Paw-spective, a new blog where Dean Kim Dodd takes us along as she gets to know every corner of the College of Veterinary Medicine. From classrooms and labs to clinics and offices, Dean Dodd shares her journey exploring the people, animals, and stories that make the College one-of-a-kind.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in the role for more than two months. Time flies when you’re meeting so many great faculty, staff, and students, learning about the incredible breadth of work done here, and experiencing what makes this College so special. I wanted to share with you just some of the highlights to date

Hoco — The Homecoming tailgate was a fantastic way to connect with our alumni, students, and friends, all united by our MSU pride and a passion for veterinary medicine. We ate, we played games, and we celebrated a great Spartan win!

Parade — It was so fun to be part of this year’s Homecoming parade, celebrating the spirit of MSU and the College of Veterinary Medicine! Seeing our community come together with so much pride and enthusiasm reminds me why we do what we do. Thank you to everyone who came out to cheer us on!

President Guskiewicz appointed a new Heath Sciences Council to shape the future of health sciences at MSU – I’m enjoying the discussions surrounding One Health and the important role of Vet Med. Dr. Kurt Zinn took me on an inspiring tour of the Radiopharmacy facility and the Center of Excellence in Imaging, which includes a PET/MR that will support cancer detection, monitoring, and clinical trials in humans and animals. Talk about One Health in action—this is how we change the world!

Poty — The Celebration of Generosity was a fabulous evening where we celebrated the Hickman/Munger family as our Philanthropists of the Year and enjoyed an excellent presentation by Dr. Zinn. They share our passion for the vital role of veterinary medicine in tackling some of the biggest challenges of our time, in concerted efforts to improve both human and animal health.

Another recent favorite was the Big Babies 5K. Louie, my mini bernedoodle, and I had a blast meeting so many two- and four-legged friends from our community. The Robert Leader Fall Faculty and Staff Welcome was another highlight in early September. I enjoyed seeing many of you there and as always, enjoyed hearing our alumni reminisce during their 50-year reunion.

Wc1 — One of my proudest moments so far has been welcoming our new DVM and VN students at the White Coat ceremonies. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of our students during the new quarterly Brown Bag Lunch Series with each DVM class, our VN students, and graduate students.

Wc2 — We’ve also been hard at work shaping our future together, including retreats with Marketing and Communications and Development. The Theriogenology Service Open House was a great success, and I’m thrilled to see Dr. Gomes’ leadership in action as we launch our first small animal theriogenology service.

Rosie — And, of course, a huge shout-out to the Veterinary Nursing team for their highly successful accreditation site visit earlier this month! Taylor Epp and her team are inspiring future generations and the profession more broadly. This is another fitting example of how CVM is making the world a better place. Plus, who can resist the charm of Lady Rosalyn Tortellini of Tortuga?

Want to see more?

If these photos piqued your interest, click to see more about the Homecoming Parade and Tailgate, Radiopharmacy, Philanthropists of the Year, Big Babies 5K, White Coat Ceremonies, Theriogenology Service, and of course, Lady Rosalyn Tortellini of Tortuga!

Thank you all for your dedication. I’m so excited for what’s to come as we continue growing and succeeding together!

Categories: Dean's Paw-spective

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