A big Thank You to everyone who made the Chili Cookoff for Scholarships a great event this year. If you want to see photos of all the festivities, visit the CVM Facebook page.
Longtime CVM Student Advisor to Retire
October 23rd, 2013
Patrick Kamins with the Class of 2013
A message from Patrick Kamins:
Hi all,
I will be retiring on Thursday, Halloween Day, 2013, and I have a secret. But, first . . .
Before working at the College of Veterinary Medicine, I was employed for 18 years at three other colleges in Colorado. I was initially hired at OSU as a temporary worker in the admissions office in Kerr. In the month of October, 1998, I was hired full-time, and for about 2 years I was the “voice” of admissions, taking an average of 800 information calls per month.
In the summer of 2000, Dr. Linda Blythe hired me as the CVM student services coordinator. In those days, OSU Vet Med was very different, with one hospital [large animal], and only 34 students in my first graduating class (Class of 2001). At that time, I performed “distance advising” to half of the CVM students who were attending their second and third year classes at Washington State University in Pullman.
My favorite part of work has been my close association with students and my friendly, professional interaction with faculty and technicians. To name only a few, my memories will include: finding you in class to deliver gifts and roses on Valentines Day; participating in pumpkin carving and crazy sweater contests; joining in Ride the Heart of the Valley; and playing Christmas songs on my guitar in the Magruder lobby.
It is interesting to watch oneself growing old but it has been much easier with the many faculty, tech, staff, and student friends that I have made. Please make me your Facebook friend so that I can keep up with you, and find you in the future to laugh about the good, ol’ vet school days, and share some chocolate.
To CVM Students and Former Students
All university students work very hard to earn their degrees, but veterinary students experience so many additional challenges. You handle them so very well. I sincerely appreciated that with all your challenges, you always were so very polite when you came to see me in the Dean’s office. You made me laugh a lot, cry a little, and I’m very thankful for the past 13+ years. And all the chocolate!! My goodness, I have been given, and have enjoyed, the best in the world.
You already know this, but my secret is that you are all my favorite student!
Disease Training Program Broadens Career Perspective
October 23rd, 2013
Caitlin McLagan recently followed her interest in public health to an intriguing location: Plum Island.
Located off the coast of Connecticut, Plum Island has been a rich source of urban legends. In the middle of the last century, Plum Island was home to an Army biological weapons lab, and decades of secrecy created crazy rumors about what went on there: alien experiments, strange creatures spawned in laboratories, and even a rumor that Lyme disease was developed there.
Now Plum Island is managed by the Department of Homeland Security. It is home to the U.S. Foreign Animal Disease Center, which is focused on preventing devastating diseases like African Horse Sickness and Foot-and-Mouth Disease from spreading in the U.S. It is also a key element in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Smith-Kilborne Program. And that is how McLagan came to visit the mysterious island.
The Smith-Kilborne Program selects one veterinary student from each college in the U.S. to spend nine days learning to recognize foreign animal diseases and to take an active role in their control. It is part of the USDA mission to involve private practice veterinarians as partners in preventing and preparing for animal health emergencies.
As part of the program, McLagan first spent three days at Cornell University learning about emerging infectious diseases, outbreak investigation, and emergency response. “We reviewed real-world outbreaks with the experts who were actually involved,” she says. “And we discussed how things might have been done differently.”
At Plum Island, McLagan and her fellow vet students got lots of hands-on experience. Every day, after a 45-minute trip from the mainland, they donned Tyvek suits to work with the world’s top experts, taking live samples from birds, doing post-mortem exams, and observing sick animals. “We saw clinical manifestations of diseases you will never see in your veterinary career,” she says.
In a recent presentation to CVM students, McLagan recommended the Smith-Kilborne program to any vet student with an interest in public health. With the resurgence of infectious diseases due to global travel, population growth, and degradation of habitat, McLagan encourages graduating DVM’s to consider careers beyond private practice. “There are so many things we can do in this profession,” she says.
Open House at Dryden Hall
October 23rd, 2013
Dryden Hall shortly after construction in 1927.
Note the grassy area in front (now 30th street).
The Department of Biomedical Sciences will be holding an open house at Dryden Hall on Friday, November 1, 3 – 4 pm. They will be conducting tours of the new Bio-Safety Level 2 Laboratory and multimedia classroom. Refreshments will be served.
Hall Research Helps Livestock Producers
October 23rd, 2013
Professor Jean Hall has been in the news quite a bit lately for her research on the benefits of fertilizing Oregon alfalfa with selenium. She is now working on getting the word out to crop producers and making sure they understand the proper way of using selenium in boom sprayers. Too much selenium can be toxic. “There is a process using pure powder which we can explain to producers,” she says.
Hall is working with Polk County Extension to create a fact sheet on the process. In the meantime, livestock producers are invited to contact Hall at 541-737-6532 or jean.hall@oregonstate.edu for more information. Read more.
New Social Media Assistant at CVM
October 23rd, 2013
The Vet Gazette welcomes Josey Sechrist, who has joined the Dean’s office team as a Social Media Assistant. She will be posting to the college Facebook page and writing stories for this blog:
Hello everyone! My name is Josey Sechrist. I am currently a sophomore at Oregon State University. I am pursuing a major in Mathematics and the International Double Degree with a minor in Spanish and an option in secondary education. My hope is to become a high school math and Spanish teacher and hopefully also spend some time abroad in Spain teaching math or english as a second language.
I love people and animals and can’t wait to get to know all of you better. If you have any ideas for the CVM Facebook page or a potential blog story, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I am always open to new ideas and can work with your schedule. My phone number is (360)609-0881 and my email is sechrisj@onid.orst.edu. I check my email every day; however, if you need an immediate response from me, texting or calling will be more effective.
