Dean Jim Lloyd
Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and Friends,
The success of any organization, be it a sports team, or any other group, is a function of the people that make up that group. I’d like to take this opportunity to note some of the key honors, appointments and awards that our own people – the foundation of this college and its success — have achieved in recent months. Below in no particular order are acknowledgments I would like to bring to your attention. You may have heard about these honors through other sources, as some of these stories have appeared as news releases or been publicized in other ways. Still, it is important to me to provide another shout-out to these individuals in our college family. If you know these individuals, please congratulate them when you see them! We can’t thank them enough for all they do for the college and for UF.
- Dr. Margo Macpherson has been selected to serve as the 2016 vice president of the Association of American Equine Practitioners. She will assume presidency of the group in 2018.
- In August, the UF Small Animal Hospital gained accreditation from the American Animal Hospital Association.
- In June, the UF Pet Emergency Treatment Service (UF PETS) was certified as a Level 3 emergency and critical care facility by the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society, following on the heels of the UF Small Animal Hospital, which received Level 1 certification from the VECCS in February.
- In July, Dr. Kirsten Cooke was named a Top 20 Finalist in the America’s Favorite Veterinarian contest sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. In addition, two UFCVM alumni, Dr. Christy Layton and Dr. Gary Richter, were also selected as finalists. Following an unexpected cancellation of the contest in August, all of the finalists were named “America’s Favorite Veterinarian.”
- University of Florida third-year veterinary student Geoffrey Zann received the prestigious national 2015 Merial Veterinary Research Scholar award for his work on the motion of the kneecap after surgery in dogs. Geoff conducted his research under the direction of Dr. Stan Kim.
- Our new clinical skills laboratory was completed this summer and acknowledged with a ribbon cutting event held Aug. 4. Among those who played a key part in this endeavor were Dr. Pam Ginn, John Haven, Dr. David Guzick, UF senior vice president for health affairs and president of UF Health, and Dr. Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and director of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
- A first-ever Aquatic Ecosystem Health Conference was held in Gainesville in July. The event brought together experts in the areas of ranaviruses and marine mammal health. Key to the organization of this conference were the co-directors of UF’s Aquatic Animal Health Program, Drs. Mike Walsh and Tom Waltzek.
All of you work hard every day to make our college great. I appreciate the role every one of you plays and it’s a privilege to work among such talented and energized individuals.
Sincerely,
Dean Lloyd
James W. Lloyd
Professor and Dean
UF College of Veterinary Medicine