Dean’s message: June 2022

Members of the Dean's Leadership Council pose outside the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Left to Right: Kerri Marshall, Dori Borjesson, Paul Casey, Tim Kraabel, Bob Esch, Elizabeth Fritzler, Jennifer Welser. Not pictured: Marty Becker, Joe Mendelson, Barb Mendelson, Lindsay Roitman, Samuel Smith.

Summer is finally here. The days are long, wow! Early morning light creeps in at 4 a.m., which I love, but it does awaken the quail that sit on rooftops throughout our neighborhood and “kaa” to, evidently, announce their availability to the lovely female quail. We seem to have a number of bachelors near us. Seasonal sounds are wonderful.

I thought I would share with you my excitement after hosting our first in-person Dean’s Leadership Council earlier this month. This group includes alumni, donors, leaders in private and corporate veterinary medicine, leaders in industry/research, and friends of the college from the west side with expertise in communication and development. Their charge is to be ambassadors and advocates — to serve as a source and sounding board for sustainable ideas that will advance the college. We shared meals, they enjoyed a complete tour of our buildings (from the old McCoy to the new Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab and everything in between) and we focused our conversation on two programs — simulation-based education, one of our flagship programs, and public health, one of our new program opportunities. They were engaged, inquisitive and game. A subset of our visitors also discovered (or re-discovered) Ferdinand’s ice cream and Cougar Gold Cheese.

I thought I would share with you my excitement after hosting our first in-person Dean’s Leadership Council earlier this month. This group includes alumni, donors, leaders in private and corporate veterinary medicine, leaders in industry/research, and friends of the college from the west side with expertise in communication and development. Their charge is to be ambassadors and advocates — to serve as a source and sounding board for sustainable ideas that will advance the college. We shared meals, they enjoyed a complete tour of our buildings (from the old McCoy to the new Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab and everything in between) and we focused our conversation on two programs — simulation-based education, one of our flagship programs, and public health, one of our new program opportunities. They were engaged, inquisitive and game. A subset of our visitors also discovered (or re-discovered) Ferdinand’s ice cream and Cougar Gold Cheese.

So, what happens now? We requested (and received) feedback on programs and next steps. A few themes emerged, including the forever present theme: The programs are great! But people need to know more about who you are and what you do. This year we will put together a west side strategy that includes using the members of our Dean’s Leadership Council as ambassadors who can provide access and increased partnerships. A west side strategy can be coupled with continuing education events, alumni engagement, and educational programs focused on research. We will need to increase what we do to market ourselves. The team came up with some creative ideas from how we train our students (expand telehealth, community access) to how we staff our academic teaching hospital. I am meeting bimonthly with our communications and development teams to move forward on increasing engagement on the west side.

If you’d like to know more, you can always read the latest stories from our college on our news page. For even more content, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

I am grateful to have an external team that can help advance our initiatives. Go Cougs!