Message from the Dean

Welcome to Spring

Welcome to the spring issue of On Call. It’s an exciting time at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. We are in the midst of our building expansion project, with the completion of the new north building slated for this coming fall/winter. Continued remodeling of our current south building and the addition of a covered equine arena will follow, to be completed by the end of 2024. You can view the progress of our new building construction on the Animals Need Heroes Too website at animalsneedheroestoo.com

If you watched this year’s Super Bowl, you perhaps saw the beloved golden retriever Scout in WeatherTech’s most recent commercial. Before he passed due to cancer, Scout’s life (and quality of life) was extended by the care provided at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine. Scout’s story, spotlighted in WeatherTech’s 2020 Super Bowl ad, inspired animal lovers worldwide to support efforts to advance cancer treatments and technology at the school. Those gifts are pushing forward new cancer research and therapies, which you can read more about at go.wisc.edu/scoutlegacy.

In this issue of On Call, we highlight the school’s community mural project, launched last spring during the Iverson Bell Midwest Regional Diversity Summit held in Madison. We engaged an immensely talented artist, Tia Richardson, to guide the school’s faculty, staff, students, and those in attendance at the summit through the mural’s creation and painting. In addition to its prominent location in the school, we look forward to the mural being displayed on the cover of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association this coming summer.

Also in this issue is a story about our DVM Class of 2026. It has been an interesting time for our profession, with a more than 25 percent increase in applicants to veterinary medical schools in the U.S. over the past three years. At the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, the number of applicants more than doubled over the same time frame. As you may have noticed in your own community, there’s a nationwide shortage of both veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Many schools and colleges around the country are expanding their class size, and several new schools of veterinary medicine have launched over the last five years. Here at UW-Madison, we increased our DVM class size from 80 to 96 nearly six years ago to help address these shortages.

I hope each of you has a g reat spring. If you have a chance, drive by our new building to see its progress!

Mark D. Markel, Dean

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Administration

Mark D. Markel , Dean

Richard Barajas, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Lynn Maki , Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs

Nancy Parkinson , Assistant Dean for Human Resources

Ed Rodriguez , Associate Dean for Budget and Finance

Peggy Schmidt , Associate Dean for Professional Programs

Chris Snyder , Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Director, UW Veterinary Care

M. Suresh , Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Training

Kristi V. Thorson , Associate Dean for Advancement and Administration

Lauren Trepanier , Assistant Dean for Clinical and Translational Research

Editorial

Editor/Writer : Meghan Lepisto

Contributing Writers: Chris Barncard, Will Cushman, Britta Wellenstein

Photography : Meghan Lepisto, Elise Mahon, Jeff Miller, Seth Moffitt, Bryce Richter, Britta Wellenstein

Design : Christine Knorr, University Marketing

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Please send your feedback and comments to oncall@vetmed.wisc.edu, 608-263-6914, or On Call Editor, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706.

On Call is also available online at: www.vetmed.wisc.edu/on-call

The printing and distribution of this magazine were funded by donations to the school. To make a gift, contact Pat Bowdish at 608-332-4750 or pat.bowdish@supportuw.org or Heidi Kramer at 608-327-9136 or heidi.kramer@supportuw.org.