This past weekend was a special moment for me. I returned to the University of California, Davis, where I was the recipient of an alumni achievement award. It is not normally a thing I would announce, but it has had me reflecting about a leadership journey.
When I left UC Davis to be dean at WSU, I was blissfully unaware of the breadth of this job. I think that is always the way and likely how it has to be for us to accept challenging opportunities. My time at UC Davis gave me tremendous roots, knowledge, and experience; none of which I fully understood until recently.
When I arrived here there were programs I immediately recognized as exceptional and well-developed. I was given credit for — and fully enjoyed — the ribbon cutting at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL). Dr. Tim Baszler, then the WADDL executive director, said, “this is your first building.” In truth, I had done nothing, but it was awesome to see the teamwork, the building, and the mission. I knew if I had been dean, I would have been all in, as Dean Bryan Slinker clearly had been. The Paul G. Allen School for Global Health is a similar example and truly exceptional. And the Program in Individualized Medicine (PrIMe), generating over $4 million in royalties in licensing agreements for a test that saves animals’ lives, exceptional impact. There are many more examples.
Then there were the people who came to me in the first few months of my arrival with proposals, ideas, and outlines. What would it look like if? Could we invest? I remember Dr. Bill Davis and “the memo” regarding developing an undergraduate program in public health. “Our undergraduates want to make a difference,” he wrote. “We have a medical school, a nursing school, a college of veterinary medicine.” Coming out of the pandemic, it was clear — we are rural, remote, and underserved. Of course, I knew it would be great, and, so far, it is exceeding expectations. And there was Bethany Colaprete, our former director of counseling and wellness, who said, “what about a student success center?” It started with a simple white paper outlining what she thought our students needed. Our first meeting was in January 2022. Now, the student success center is open. And our Simulation-Based Education program was already strong, truly recognized as a national leader in the field of veterinary medicine. But it was located in facilities where it rained indoors. Not great. We advocated for financial support, it was received, and, three years later, we have a program and space that is, well, the best in the nation.
Then there are the ideas that are still in their infancy. Programs and visions that I support and others will support. How do we embed a veterinary technician training program in our college? We are figuring this out — it would support the workforce, the profession, the hospital, and our students. How do we fully expand into experiential research experiences for our undergraduates? This will prepare our graduates, in practical, forward-thinking ways, for the biomedical sciences workforce. How do we make best practice decisions in our teaching hospital that focus on access to care for all animals and the humans who love them? And, how do we form teams of scientists that solve current real-world challenges?
It is the circle of leadership. The things we inherit, the things we fully support and make happen, the things we dream about and lay the groundwork for others to fully realize once our time in leadership is over. As I mentioned, I have been pondering.
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Be safe, healthy, happy, and stay hopeful.
Take care & Go Cougs, Dori Borjesson