Forever True

Stories by Dave Gieseke

No Matter how you slice the numbers, the final tallies of the Forever True, For Iowa State fundraising campaign are impressive.

Very impressive.

“The historic success of the campaign is a testament to Iowa State University’s powerful impact – providing access to an excellent education, conducting innovative and impactful research, and ensuring science-based resources and programs are widely available through extension and outreach,” said President Wendy Wintersteen.

The Forever True campaign raised $1,542,356,968, exceeding its $1.5 billion goal.

Just as impressive was the funds raised by the College of Veterinary Medicine. The college raised $97,131,960 or 120% of its $81 million goal.

“Thanks to the generosity of our alumni, friends, stakeholders, and corporate partners, the College of Veterinary Medicine will continue to support scholarships, programs, named professorships, facility improvements, and so many other things that are vital to the college’s mission,” said Dr. Dan Grooms, the Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard Dean of Veterinary Medicine.

The impact of the $97.1 million will be felt for years to come through:

• 80 new scholarships for DVM and graduate students

• 14 new endowed chairs, professorships and fellowships

• Much needed support for research

• Contributions that assisted in the new construction, renovation or addition of new equipment for the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Clinical Skills Lab, classroom space, Fish Tank Lobby, Gentle Doctor Café, wellness and exercise spaces, junior surgery, Veterinary Field Services, and the Stereotactic Radiation Therapy room.

The college saw 9,000 donors contribute to the Forever True campaign and the college’s endowment has increased by $60 million in that time period.

Over the next few pages, the true impact of the Forever True campaign is highlighted, looking at how students, faculty and staff have benefitted from the generosity of the college’s donors.

CVM CONTINUES TO SEEK ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT

Increasing student support remains a top priority for the college. To spur additional interest in alumni and friends creating new scholarships, $1 million has been designated from the endowment to provide incentives for outright and endowed scholarships.

For donors seeking immediate impact through outright scholarships and term awards up to five years, new scholarship funds of $10,000 or more will be matched with an additional 50 cents for every dollar contributed. A $10,000 scholarship will become $15,000. If it’s pledged for five years, $50,000 will be matched with an additional $25,000.

For those who wish to establish an endowed award that will be given to students each year, the endowment will provide “start-up” dollars equal to the first five years of scholarships. These endowments start at $100,000 to earn the incentive funding, which equals four percent annually for scholarship, with the remainder of the gift being invested to preserve the principal and keep pace with inflation. Donors have up to five years to complete their endowment pledge, during which time annual scholarships will be awarded in their names from the endowment.

For more information on scholarship gifts and current incentives, please contact Steven Hatting, executive director of development, at shatting@iastate.edu or 515-294-8562.

FACILITIES

Partnering with Industry

In addition to gifts from alumni and friends, the Forever True, For Iowa State fundraising campaign received numerous gifts from industry and commodity group partners.

One project benefitting from contributions from these groups is the new, state-of-the-art Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

The State of Iowa appropriated $63.5 million towards the $75 million project. To close the funding gap, many of the VDL’s industry partners contributed financially.

A pair of such gifts came from the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFB), each of whom committed a gift of $1 million to support the new VDL.

“Our investment underscores how Iowa’s pig farmers rely on this in-state facility to help us quickly recognize and contain animal diseases,” said Mike Paustian, a Walcott farmer who is the IPPA president. “The current VDL has been pushed to its limits, while the need for the services they provide continues expanding rapidly. Over 75 percent of the samples being submitted to the VDL are from pig farms, which is why we decided to help lead the charge to secure the funds needed for this project. Not only is that important to us, but to Iowa’s rural economy. The VDL is a world-class resource that will be critical to the future success of pork producers in Iowa.”

The investment in the new facility will help greatly increase the state’s diagnostic service and discovery capabilities for current and future generations of Iowa’s livestock farmers. In addition, the new facility will help keep Iowa State at the forefront in discovery of emerging and re-emerging diseases, provide a rich caseload to teach future veterinary practitioners and make innovative discoveries regarding new methods to control and eradicate diseases.

“Livestock is critical to Iowa’s agricultural industry so it is imperative that we are constantly innovating and continuously improving what we do for the overall well-being of our animals and our food supply,” said Craig Hill, president of IFB and multi-generation livestock farmer from Ackworth, Iowa. “With this new world-class facility, Iowa livestock farmers will have immediate access to unbiased, third-party diagnoses in livestock and poultry to help ensure a safe food supply for future generations.”

The IPPA and the IFB are just a few of the commodity and industry groups to see a need for a new VDL in Iowa. Other groups include the Iowa Beef Industry Council, Cattlemen’s Association and Cattleman’s Foundation, Dairy Farmers to the Iowa American Dairy Association of the Midwest., Iowa Egg Council, Poultry Association, Turkey Federation and Turkey Marketing Council, Iowa Corn Growers Association and Corn Promotion Board, Iowa Soybean Association and United Soybean Board, Merck Animal Health, Farm Credit Services, and the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association.

“Through our stakeholders’ partnerships with Iowa State and the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory will continue to be a leader in protecting animal and human health while advancing Iowa’s animal agriculture economy,” said Dr. Dan Grooms, the Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard Dean of Veterinary Medicine.

Construction is underway on the new Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

Photo: Dave Gieseke

PROGRAMS

Clinical Skills Lab

When “Frosty” arrived on the scene a few years ago, the life-size Holstein dystocia simulator was the centerpiece of the Clinical Skills Laboratory (CSL).

Frosty and its fully articulated 70-pound calf, “Snowflake,” pretty much had the CSL to themselves. There’s a publicity photo taken in the early days showing a pair of veterinary students having plenty of room to simulate a calf pulling. It was thanks to gifts from Dr. Scott (’75) and Nancy Armbrust, Dr. Paul Armbrecht (’71), Dr. John Kurt (’75), and Dr. Dan Smith (’75) that Frosty and Snowflake were added to the CSL.

Today, thanks in large part to the Forever True, For Iowa State fundraising campaign, Frosty has plenty of company. A full-size equine palpation/colic simulator is among the countless other models and simulators purchased with funds contributed to the campaign.

It got so crowded that Frosty had to “moove” on, finding her way to the newly-renovated Veterinary Field Services building and another clinical skills lab.

“The Clinical Skills Lab bridges the gap between lectures and the students’ labs and clinical year,” said Dr. Brian Collins, CSL coordinator. “It builds up their confidence before they perform a procedure on a live animal.”

The CSL was created to provide opportunities for students to become more confident about any number of procedures. It solves an age-old dilemma on having student veterinarians gain experience in the profession before treating a live animal for the first time. The CSL is equipped with medical simulators, realistic animal models and state-of-the-art computer programs, which have been purchased with private donations and college funds.

In recent months, Collins has utilized private gifts to purchase a wide array of models including one for dentistry and another for anesthesiology. His goal is to find enough room in the CSL to create a mock surgical suite for students to utilize.

“I relied on private gifts to purchase all of these models,” Collins said. “These models allow the students to get their techniques down pat.”

Cow and horse simulators

Life-Saving Gift

Many gifts to the Forever True, For Iowa State fundraising campaign have the capability of becoming life-changing for scholarship recipients, named professors and others.

Few, if any, gifts to the Iowa State campaign can be said to be life-saving. That is except for a $153,000 grant from the Fullgraf Foundation which was used to purchase muchneeded equipment for the equine surgery section including a fluoroscopy unit (C-arm), an imaging modality that uses X-rays to produce a real-time image of anatomy.

Dr. Kevin Kersh, clinical associate professor of veterinary clinical sciences, said that since it was purchased, the fluoroscopy unit has been used to repair five fractures as well as to place coils into major vessels to prevent life threatening hemorrhages.

“These cases would have resulted in death or euthanasia if it were not for the equipment we were able to purchase with this donation,” Kersh said.

The grant also provided for the purchase of additional equipment for the equine surgery unit including a locking compression plate and a videoendoscopy unit. In particular, the endoscope has proven invaluable to the equine surgery unit.

“We have utilized the endoscope to get a definitive diagnosis in multiple cases that other diagnostic modalities were not able to provide,” Kersh said.

The new equipment has not only proven to be lifesaving, but instructive as well. Veterinary students, as well as equine interns and residents, were provided new learning opportunities.

“They are now able to see the benefits of advanced equipment to achieve a proper diagnosis as well as participating in surgery and experiencing the capabilities afforded by high quality fluoroscopy,” Kersh said.

Equine fluoroscopy unit (C-arm)

SCHOLARSHIPS

Never Giving Up

Jesse Huerta knew the road to achieving his lifelong goal of becoming a veterinarian would require perseverance, determination and distinction. All of which he set out to accomplish.

He knew he needed more veterinary experience before applying to vet school. While an undergraduate at Texas A&M University, the San Antonio native worked in that school’s large animal hospital ICU.

He applied to vet school and wasn’t accepted. But Huerta didn’t give up.

After graduating from Texas A&M, he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and found his passion working at a small animal emergency clinic, a field of veterinary medicine that was completely foreign to him.

He applied to vet school a second time and wasn’t accepted. Again, Huerta didn’t give up.

“My dad always told me to have a Plan B,” Huerta said. “I told him I wanted to be a vet and there wasn’t a Plan B.”

Huerta’s desire to become a veterinarian stemmed from his childhood. One of his pets was hit by a car. Others had illnesses. In each case he felt helpless in caring for the animal.

“I didn’t fully know what was going on with them,” he said “I wanted to put myself into a position to be able to help them and to be an advocate for other animals.”

So Huerta continued his quest to be accepted into veterinary school. While working in Michigan, he continued to seek other avenues of veterinary medicine with a goal of being a well-rounded applicant.

He again applied to vet school.

When he was accepted after his third attempt, Huerta had multiple choices of where to attend including Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Two factors stood out in Iowa State’s favor – a tour of the college given to him by Dean Dan Grooms and the Frederick Douglass Patterson Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship. The renewable scholarship honors the personal merits and attributes of Patterson, a 1923 DVM graduate from Iowa State, who served as president of the Tuskegee Institute and was the founder of the United Negro College Fund.

Huerta considers himself fortunate to receive the Patterson Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship.

“This is a wonderful scholarship that has taken some of the burden off of my financial obligations,” he said. “I’m honored to have been selected for the Patterson Scholarship and it’s a great incentive for me to keep my grades up.”

Once he graduates from Iowa State, Huerta hopes to return to his San Antonio community where he says good, quality veterinary care is lacking for the residents and their companion animals.

Jesse Huerta

Photo: Dave Gieseke

UNRESTRICTED GIVING

Helping Throughout the college

Many gifts made during the Forever True, For Iowa State campaign to the College of Veterinary Medicine created individual scholarships, named faculty positions, assisted in facility projects or purchased much-needed equipment in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center.

These gifts were designated for a specific purpose.

But countless other gifts were undesignated and have proven just as valuable for the college to achieve its goals.

“Undesignated gifts during the campaign have allowed the college to specifically target priorities,” said Dr. Dan Grooms, the Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard Dean of Veterinary Medicine.

Undesignated funding, whether it is a $100 gift or a $10,000 donation, has been pooled together to meet a variety of college priorities. None are as important as scholarships for DVM students.

Grooms said new scholarships were created to help recruit top students from throughout the world to come to Iowa State to study veterinary medicine.

“The debt load our students has is an increasingly troubling issue for Iowa State and veterinary colleges across the country,” Grooms said. “We were able to increase not only the number of scholarships we could offer, but the size of the scholarships as well.”

The new scholarships were used not only to attract the best and the brightest to Iowa State, but also to change the diversity of the student body. The Frederick Douglass Patterson Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship was created through undesignated gifts made to the college and has provided much-needed financial support to its recipients.

Each academic department in the college has also benefitted from undesignated gifts through faculty retention packages, teaching support, laboratory renovations, and support for the Junior Surgery program.

Significant undesignated funds have come from Linda and Gene Lloyd, who have provided funding for the renovation of the Fish Tank Lobby, updating the conferencing abilities and wireless displays in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center’s rounds rooms, creating a diversity recruitment program for house officers, creating two Dean’s Fellowships, and funding the concurrent DVM/PhD program.

“Undesignated gifts are extremely useful because the college’s needs change over time,” Grooms said.

Linda Lloyd officially opens the Fish Tank Lobby with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Photo: Dave Gieseke

FACULTY

Looking to the Future

A trip back in time gave Dr. Amanda Fales-Williams the inspiration on how to utilize the funds of the Tyrone D. Artz M.D. Chair for Teaching Excellence.

For Dr. Claire Andreasen, the Dr. Roger and Marilyn Mahr Professorship in One Health provided the opportunity to make sure College of Veterinary Medicine would have the necessary funding to conduct research related to One Health.

Both Fales-Williams and Andreasen could have used the proceeds from their named faculty positions to attend a cutting-edge conference or buy the newest teaching technology.

Instead, they decided to pay it forward and assist students.

“A long time ago, when I was a resident in the department (Veterinary Pathology), there was a state-supported line that paid the salaries of the residents,” Fales-Williams said.

“Over the years, those funds have been eliminated, making it hard to sustain the combined residency/PhD program. Though we have a strong program and great training resources, stipend support is hard to find.”

With no sustained line of funding, Fales-Williams saw an opportunity when she became the Tyrone D. Artz M.D. Chair for Teaching Excellence. She decided it was important to fund the veterinary pathologists of the future.

Currently, the funding is supporting two residents – Drs. Belen Hernandez and Lisa Uhl. The pair are each working towards a PhD in the five-year residency program where they assist veterinary pathology faculty in classroom instruction.

“I could have bought myself a really cool microscope camera and other technology that might only last five, maybe seven years,” Fales-Williams said. “The best way for me to contribute to the profession, to help change the world, is through our residents and their future students.”

“I wanted to do something with the funding that would last forever and I can’t think of anything better than these two outstanding clinicians.”

While Fales-Williams looked back to her own experiences to determine how to use the money, Andreasen did a little investigating when she was named the Mahr Professor in One Health. She spoke to colleagues and academic administrators to find the perfect fit for the funds. “I wanted to leverage the money as much as I could,” Andreasen said, “and distribute it to many different projects.”

The Mahr Professor in One Health is now providing seed grants to students engaged in projects based on One Health with seven research projects conducted in the College of Veterinary Medicine. The projects have been funded in the One Health area which explores the interconnection of animal, human and environmental health.

Several of these projects also partner with Iowa State’s National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education (NIAMREE).

“The object is for veterinary students learn more about research and to collect data so these researchers can use that information to get further funding down the road,” Andreasen said. “No matter which career path veterinary students take, they will need to analyze new research results, tests and data during their entire career.

"It has been a good decision. We're already seeing some of these research projects getting additional funding to find the answers to problem we are trying to solve."

Dr. Claire Andreasen, Dr. Roger and Marilyn Mahr Professorship in One Health (left) and Dr. Amanda Fales-Williams, Tyrone D. Artz, M.D. Chair for Teaching Excellence

Photo: Dave Gieseke

DONORS

Legendary Support

Lora and Russ Talbot are legendary in the College of Veterinary Medicine. The Belmond, Iowa couple have been major contributors for years and have supported the college over three separate fundraising campaigns, including the just-concluded Forever True, For Iowa State.

This despite the fact neither is a graduate of Iowa State University. Nor have they brought a pet or farm animal to the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center for treatment. Yet they have helped support construction projects in the LVMC and the new Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

“We believe in the college,” Lora and Russ said. “We are examples of friends of the college who, while not being veterinary professionals, are deeply committed to solidly supporting what the college does.”

But for Lora and Russ, it’s not about the donations. It’s about the life-long connections they have made in addition to supporting the college, its students, faculty and staff.

“We have sincerely wanted to use and invest the material successes in our lives for the benefit of everyone at the college,” the couple said. “We want to do all we can to help make the college better.

“Our decisions on where to give are based on the greatest needs, how many recipients will benefit, our personal giving goals, and the college’s current priorities. We believe in practicing ‘targeted giving’ and giving to make a positive difference.”

The Talbots are true to their word. Over the course of the past two decades they have supported numerous funds and projects within the college. Scholarships are a particular passion.

Each year multiple veterinary students have been awarded a scholarship with the Talbot name attached to it. Four-year scholarships have been created for first-year veterinary students. Additional scholarships for third-year students are renewable for the clinical fourth year.

“This type of giving appeals to us because we are helping the talented leaders of tomorrow achieve their dreams and supporting them in creating success during their time at Iowa State,” Lora and Russ said.

Catharine Found, a current fourth-year student, is a four-year Russell G. and Lora L. Talbot Scholar in Veterinary Medicine.

“When I learned I was named a Talbot Scholar, I felt like someone strongly believed in me, my mission and my career goals,” Found said. “The scholarship has given me the extra push I need when I am tired or feel lost in the mix.”

The Talbots philanthropic support reaches far beyond these two scholarships. They have contributed to numerous other scholarships over the years supporting diversity and inclusion, leadership, and business innovation. Their reach has also extended into creating graduate fellowships in veterinary medicine.

Endowments have been established by the couple for their scholarship and graduate fellowship as well as the Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed Professors in Veterinary Medicine. The inaugural endowed professor is Dr. Rachel Allbaugh, associate professor of veterinary clinical sciences. The second position has been fully funded and the couple is currently working on completing the funding for the third endowed professorship.

Allbaugh has used funding from the professorship in a variety of ways – from purchasing a new ocular ultrasound unit used in the ophthalmology unit to supporting a research project for a first-year ophthalmology residents to providing continuing education for members of the ophthalmology team.

“None of these projects would have been possible without the Talbot funds,” Allbaugh said. “I am so grateful for the opportunities the Talbot Professorship has afforded me and that I have been able to pass those on to other members of my team.”

The Talbots are proud of the impact the scholarships, the professorships and other programs they have assisted in the college have made. But they believe the benefit goes both ways.

“We have diligently tried to make ‘extra efforts’ to get to know our recipients,” they say. “We want to demonstrate to them we are cheering them on and emphasize that we are part of their support team.

“We greatly benefit from knowing them and it helps to make our giving to the college more meaningful, interesting and fun.”

Lora and Russ Talbot

ISU Foundation

COMPASSIONATE CLIENT

Why Not the Vet School

Bob Wesner, MD, a private practice psychiatrist in Iowa City, firmly believes his dog Kae is alive today because of her care at the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital.

So when it came time for Bob to make his estate decisions, he put the College of Veterinary Medicine at the top of his list.

“Until I started bringing Kae here, I had little connection with the vet school,” the Solon, Iowa resident and 1979 Iowa State graduate said.

After the passing of two of his beloved dogs, Bob received a letter from the College of Veterinary Medicine acknowledging a gift was made in their memory. A few years later, he reached out to the college to discuss estate options, ultimately creating a Dean’s fund with a focus on animal welfare and behavior.

“I thought about a lot of other charities and organizations I could bequeath my estate to,” he said. “Then the thought came to me - why not the vet school? I didn’t have to think about my decision too much.”

Wesner says he has always had a strong fondness for animals and wanted to have his dogs be part of the therapeutic experience patients receive when they come to his office in Iowa City.

Since both Kae and Story are so well behaved and polite, he can take them to work every day. “We’re together nearly 24/7.” The two Labrador Retrievers are an integral part of his psychiatric practice. Both Kae and Story came from a service dog organization that trains guide dogs for the blind. Wesner had a contact at that organization who introduced him to “Career Changed” dogs, animals not cut out for the kind of work they train for. A good guide dog has to be like a truck driver. Get the human from point A to point B safely.

In the case of both Kae and Story, their deficiencies were an asset to Wesner because they’re “too social.”

“They’re too curious about their surroundings, and they gravitate towards people,” Wesner said. “They were perfect for my practice, and my patients adore them.

“They have a calming effect on patients and can, at least briefly, distract patients from their anxiety and distress.”

Wesner first brought Kae to the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital for dental work and connected with Dr. Brenda Mulherin, clinical professor of veterinary clinical sciences, a board-certified veterinary dentist. A couple of years later, Kae was back in the hospital after developing a tumor in the left hind leg.

A tough decision was made on how to proceed with the treatment. Dr. Karl Kraus, professor of veterinary clinical services and a board-certified veterinary surgeon, removed her leg. It has been a little over two years since the operation, and Kae has had no signs of reoccurrence.

Now a tripod, Kae’s adaptability was so good that she went back to work immediately. Wesner is grateful for all the excellent help and advice he received. He’s convinced beyond any doubt that she’s alive because of the expert care she received at the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital. It reaffirmed his decision to bequeath his estate to the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Story (left) and Kae

Kae