Hi Everybody,

Since becoming Dean of the College in July 2012, I have had the privilege of getting to meet and know many amazing people. Our faculty, staff, and students consistently impress me with their work ethic and dedication to the College. Our alumni are involved and invested in their alma mater. Our hospital clients are among our biggest cheerleaders, and our donors provide us opportunities to create and develop programs of excellence in veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences.

But, recently, I came to know of an amazing woman whom I never met; who had never even attended Colorado State University. Dorothy Vaughan always dreamed of being a veterinarian, but her father believed it was a man’s job and she was forbidden from attending CSU’s veterinary school. Ms. Vaughan, a long-time Colorado resident, passed away in 2011, but she certainly had the last word on the matter.

Unable to realize her own dream of becoming a veterinarian, she decided to establish a $1 million memorial scholarship fund at the College to support students pursuing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. I regret that I won’t be able to meet Ms. Vaughan to thank her personally for her generosity, but it makes me feel good to know that she knew her gift would help many of our students make their own dreams come true. Some of the new scholarship areas this gift will support include research, wildlife, public health, exotic animal medicine, and shelter medicine. We’ll also be able to provide additional scholarships for academic excellence and for out-of-state students.

While I never had the privilege of meeting Ms. Vaughan, I did have the honor of meeting many of our other donors on Feb. 9 at the 1870 Dinner, a celebration of philanthropy at Colorado State University. At the dinner, the College was highlighted in the story of Snuggles, a miniature horse whose vision was saved thanks to the dedicated service of members of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital team. Dinner guests were even treated to a surprise visit by Snuggles and friends! You can watch Snuggles’ story here.

In other news from the College, this spring is shaping up to be even busier than normal. We have many special events on the calendar including multiple showings of the documentary on our equine programs, Horse Sense, the Veterinary Teaching Hospital Open House, Annual Conference for Veterinarians, Second Annual Equine Symposium, ASPCA/CSU Shelter Medicine Conference, Cardiovascular Disease Colloquium, and so much more. You’ll find information on all these events in this edition of E-Insight.

Finally, In January, the Equine Reproduction Laboratory welcomed a new director. Dr. Jerry Black is now heading up the ERL, in addition to his position as Director of the Equine Sciences undergraduate program, and we look forward to Jerry’s stewardship of this outstanding program. This is one of the first steps in the establishment of a new CSU Equine Sciences and Health Institute that will draw together multiple equine programs.

Next week I’ll be traveling to the Western Veterinary Conference and I look forward to seeing many of our colleagues and alumni there. If you’ll be at the conference, be sure to attend the CSU Alumni Reception at the WVC on Monday, Feb. 18, at the conference headquarters at Mandalay Bay.

Cheers,

Mark Stetter, DVM, DACZM

Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences