Making Connections for a Strong Future

One of the pleasures of my first few months as dean of this College has been getting acquainted—or in many cases reacquainted—with the people who make this institution and this profession thrive.

I've talked with alumni at the AVMA convention in Boston, met key Illinois stakeholders from Anna and St. Louis to Rockford and Chicago, and visited several practices. Fall Conference brought a great many practitioners back to campus, and I took that opportunity to speak with many of them.

In August I attended a meeting of the Nine States Veterinary Association, which brings together the leaders of mostly Midwestern veterinary colleges. That group is sponsoring some exciting research into the characteristics that define successful veterinary practitioners, with the goal of incorporating what is learned into the recruitment and admissions process.

Of course, one of the groups I've been most eager to hear from is our faculty, staff, and students. Much of my time has been spent learning about their current activities and goals.

Listening has been a good way to catch up on the changes that have taken place since I was here at Illinois as part of the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology from 1984 to 1995. Returning after six years at the University of Connecticut, where I headed the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science, Connecticut's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and the Office of Animal Research Services, I'm pleased to find an institution ready to strengthen its position as one of the nation's top centers for biomedical research and veterinary education.

To achieve that goal, we first need a plan. And to create a plan, we need not only the wise council of leaders within and outside the College but also a good understanding of our current assets.

I've asked the unit and department heads at the College to work with their faculty and staff to examine the strengths of their unit. Each unit will identify two or three "signature programs" that fit the University's mission of teaching, research, and outreach and that address current and emerging needs within the University, state, nation, or profession. From among these the College will further denote a few areas of excellence, programs that link strengths from throughout the College and build connections with departments, businesses, and institutions beyond the College.

Collaboration will be a hallmark of the programs that arise from this process. In keeping with a mandate from University leadership, we want to forge alliances with other researchers and programs throughout the Urbana campus and on the other University of Illinois campuses.

As we build those partnerships, we'll especially have an eye to increasing our presence in Chicago. Current alliances there include the Zoo Pathology Program with Shedd Aquarium and the Brookfield and Lincoln Park Zoos and the Conservation Medicine Center of Chicago with Brookfield and Loyola University School of Medicine. Plans are under way to create a formal rotation program for our fourth-year veterinary students at Brookfield Zoo. In the near future we hope to establish a satellite clinic in the metropolitan area.

International collaborations will also be important to our future. Our faculty with experience and interest in this area, along with a representative from campus's International Programs office, will be developing a plan for furthering our global connections.

In future issues of Veterinary Report, we'll share more about College priorities emerging as we plan our course for the coming decades. I've invited the department heads and associate deans to share this page with me, beginning this issue with Associate Dean for Development Terry Rathgeber.

Along with him, I thank all of you who have shown this College your support. And I encourage you to continue your connection to the College by sending me your ideas and input about our future.