Alumni recognition awards

Veterinary Meeting & Expo 2020

Dr. Osmundo Castilla, DVM 1966

Dr. Osmundo Castilla, Miami, Florida, originally from Juigalpa, Nicaragua, graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in 1964 and his DVM in 1966, both from Kansas State University. He also earned a master’s degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 1973. Dr. Castilla retired in 2016 as senior staff veterinarian for the National Center for Import and Export (now Strategy and Policy) for Veterinary Services in the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Riverdale, Maryland. He was responsible for designing, negotiating and implementing the animal export policy of the USDA for the Americas and Caribbean. He was also an adviser to the USDA’s Area Veterinarian in Charge offices on certification of animals and germplasm for International trade.

Fetch dvm360 Conference 2021

Dr. James Kenyon, DVM 1975

Dr. James Kenyon, Cedar Falls, Iowa, grew up on a farm in Graham County, Kansas, and graduated from Bogue Rural High School in 1966. He earned his DVM degree at K-State in 1975. Dr. Kenyon served on active duty in the Army Veterinary Corps from 1975 to 1977, and as a major in the Reserves through 1990. He worked as a mixed animal veterinarian for 35 years in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa. Through his mentoring, 18 student workers went on to become veterinarians. In retirement, Dr. Kenyon has authored several books: “The Art of Listening to the Heart,” published in 2017; “A Cow for College and Other Stories of 1950’s Farm Life” in 2018; “Golden Rule Days, History and Recollections of 109 Closed Kansas High Schools,” which was named winner of the 2018 Martin Kansas History Book Award.

American Veterinary Medical Association 2021

Dr. Molly McCue, DVM 2000

Western Veterinary Conference 2021

Dr. J. David Wheat, DVM 1980

Dr. Molly McCue, St. Paul, Minnesota, runs an equine-genetics laboratory and serves as the associate dean of research at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Dr. McCue graduated summa cum laude from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. She went on to do an internship in large animal medicine at the University of Georgia before returning to Kansas State in 2001 to pursue a master’s and complete a residency in equine internal medicine, which she completed in 2004. In 2007, Dr. McCue moved to Minnesota to pursue doctoral and postdoctoral research, taking a position at the College of Veterinary Medicine as an assistant professor in 2008.

Dr. J. David Wheat, Arcadia, California, grew up in Manhattan, Kansas, where his father was a genetics professor for 30 years at Kansas State University. Having a keen interest in horses, he spent several years as a wrangler at Rock Springs Ranch, southwest of Junction City. Dr. Wheat earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science and industry in 1976 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1980, both at Kansas State University. He began his career at a five-person equine practice in San Dimas, California. The practice was involved with the care and treatment of pleasure horses and racehorses at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar. In 1983, Dr. Wheat opened his own practice geared toward equine sports medicine. Currently, it is a four-person practice that travels to large stables in the area, where it services horses used in various athletic disciplines.