Update from our Student Liaisons to the NVMA Board of Directors VM3 Update – Dillon Harvey The VM3 students of the PPVM have been working hard on our last semester of “in class” courses. As a whole, our group has transitioned to ISU very well and we are all looking forward to getting out of the classroom and into the hospital for clinical rotations. Our ISU classmates have welcomed us here very graciously and we have received a lot of help and worthwhile tips from them on how things work at ISU and what to expect from different professors and the types of courses we are taking. Our clinical rotations schedules are almost finalized but we all have a very good idea of what our schedule is going to be like. Already so many of us are planning around our schedule for time off, preceptorships, and other clinical type visits. I want to thank the UNL and the NVMA for all the support they have shown our class over the last 3 years. We are all looking forward to becoming your colleagues and we are excited for our future opportunities! VM2 Update—McKenzie Steger My classmates and I can hardly believe that the semester has reached it's half way point. It was busy before it even began! Over Christmas break our poultry-loving classmate spent two weeks in Arkansas completing an internship for a major broiler breeding company. At the start of this year, one of our classmates flew to San Diego, CA to present his swine genotyping research at the Plant and Animal Genome Conference. Not long after, our large animal club members traveled to Columbus, NE and had a great time touring a family feedlot and practicing necropsy techniques. At the NVMA Banquet we enjoyed meeting up with our mentors and other Nebraska veterinarians. (Thanks, NVMA!) A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of touring the Zoetis Plant of Global Manufacturing & Supply and learned exactly what goes into producing vaccines. We currently have our teaching Greyhounds and continue to care for and learn from our experiences with them. We attend a local animal shelter each week to help check in new animals. Next week we have one student headed to the AASV Conference in San Diego to present her research and another headed to Washington, D.C. as part of the AVMA's Legislative Fly-In. Our time at UNL is wrapping up and although we will miss the "good life" we are excited to make the transition to Ames and join our classmates there this fall!
School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Dr. David Hardin A huge thank you to the NVMA and all the members that participated in the Talent Auction. For those who were not able to attend, you truly missed a fun filled evening. The students had a wonderful time and all of us wish to thank the members for your continued support. The Nebraska admissions committee has completed their work and letters for admission to the Class of 2017 have been mailed out. We have a very competitive group of applicants and wish to thank each of you for encouraging and mentoring students in their quest to become veterinarians. Under the leadership of Dr. Laura Hardin and Dr. Mike Carlson we have increased our undergraduate recruitment efforts. Late last summer Ms. Lila Tooker joined the School as a recruitment and retention coordinator. Working with the Department of Animal Science and other academic units we have developed a comprehensive Pre-Vet program. In the near future we will be sending out brochures that describe UNL’s Pre -Vet program. We would appreciate your help in sharing this information with high students in your community that have expressed an interest in becoming a veterinarian. The Vet School faculty continues to do an outstanding job, working hard every day in a very competitive environment. Faculty secure extra-mural grant dollars to conduct research to find solutions to some of the most costly diseases impacting the livestock industry. Ongoing research includes work on PRRS, BVD, IBR, neonatal E.coli., E. coli and food safety, Trichomoniasis, Johne’s Disease, Ovine Progressive Pnemonia Virus, Sheep and Goat Pox, Vesicular Somatitis Virus, Staph aureus and African Swine Fever. Our efforts to build a new Veterinary Diagnostic Lab continue. In January the University of Nebraska, Board of Regents approved the “Program Statement” that outlines the scope of the project. The next step is to obtain approval from the Commission on Post-Secondary Education and then we will request bids to develop the detailed plans for the structure from architectural firms. We continue our efforts to raise the $5 million required by the legislature before the additional funding authorized by the legislature will be made available. This past week we receive great news - an anonymous donor has made a large gift. This gift, with the support from the NVMA, Nebraska Cattlemen, Farm Bureau and numerous other groups and individuals. With the match that IANR Vice Chancellor Green has committed, we are now within $1 million of our goal. We continue to ask for your help. Only $1 million to go! In closing I remind you that the Class of 2013 will graduate in May. If you are looking for a new associate, please keep these new graduates in mind.