Robert McEachern, of Redmond, Washington, had links to Washington State University which date back to the 1930’s. He was a 1937 graduate and his wife, Margaret, was a member of the class of 1938. He was a proud and loyal member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Robert, or “Bob” as his many friends knew him, was a prominent Pacific Northwest construction executive for many years. Throughout his professional career, he also maintained a life-long interest in horses, a passion that he had developed as a young man while working as a “cowboy” in Canada. One of Bob’s other great interests through the years was WSU. Between the years 1981- 1988, he was asked by former governor John Spellman to serve his alma mater in an extraordinary way: as a member of the WSU Board of Regents. He concluded his service as the board’s president.
Bob was one of the WSU Foundation’s founding trustees and received the Foundation’s highest honor, the Weldon B. Gibson Distinguished Volunteer Award, in 1988. In recognition of his special commitment to the University and his exemplary leadership of the WSU Foundation, Robert B. McEachern was elected as a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Board of Trustees and as Special Advisor to the Foundation chair.
To promote education in the equine species, Robert and Margaret McEachern decided to establish a Distinguished Professorship in Equine Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine. In discussions between Bob and the Dean at the time (Dr. Borje Gustafsson), Bob expressed his hope that a distinguished professorship would also help veterinary medicine continue its educational efforts with animal sciences and eventually lead to the development of a strong, joint equine program.
Recipients:
- Dr. Macarena Sanz, Associate Professor, Equine Medicine, 2019-present
- Dr. Bob Mealey, 2015-2019
Read about the current professor in this position.
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