The Bustad Lecture is named in honor of Dr. Leo K. Bustad (1920-1998), who was a pioneer in the field of human-animal bond research. Dr. Bustad (’49 DVM) was dean of the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine from 1973-1984. His work significantly contributed to the understanding of the changing role of companion animals in Western societies and its impact on veterinary education, veterinary medicine, and society.
2024 – Phyllis Erdman, WSU human-animal bond researcher and counselor
2023 – Meg Daley Olmert, author of Made for Each Other: the Biology of the Human Animal Bond.
2022 – Megan Mueller, a psychologist and co-director of the Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction at Tufts University
- 2021 – Lynette Hart (virtual): Leo Bustad’s Legacy Today: Anthrozoology. The power of one person to create change.
2020 – Steven Niemi (virtual): Reaching Out to the Opposition
- 2019 – Jon Oatley: The Human-Animal Genomic Bond and its Impact on Society
- 2018 – Alan Beck (in conjunction with the Jaak Panksepp symposium): The Importance of Animal Companionship: Implications to Human and Animal Health
- 2017 – Mark Lyte: Microbial Endocrinology in Human and Veterinary Medicine: From Infectious Disease to the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis
- 2016 – Patricia Hunt: Mysteries in the Mouse room: New isn’t always improved no cleanliness godly
- 2013 – Alan Beck, Philip Tedeshi, Jaak Panksepp, Alexandra Horowitz (Leo K. Bustad Human-Animal Interaction Symposium)
- 2011 – Temple Grandin