A Month Goes By Fast

It’s hard to believe that a month has already gone by. Between the Ambassadors’ planning session, the Dean’s Club Luncheon, the Board of Visitors meeting, the 4th Annual Tailgate for our alumni and referring veterinarians, the SCAVMA Auction, and our first all-SVM Friday Afternoon get-together on September 28, we certainly had a full plate, but time flies when you’re having fun. I want to thank you for your gracious welcome and warm wishes in this new role. It appears that I frightened only a few with a 5:20 a.m. Dean’s message on September 1. I very much look forward to the next decade (or more) and helping the school stay at the forefront of veterinary medicine and serving as a leader on the UW-Madison campus and around the globe. As always, my door is open whenever you would like to stop by.

Here are some highlights from the past and coming months:

• At our September 20 SVM faculty meeting, I was privileged to present 10-year, 20-year, and special 30-year commemorative certificates to our faculty and staff who have committed their time, skill, and energy toward the success and excellence of the SVM. The recipients were Mohd Beg, Kristen Friedrichs, Pamela Gillitzer, Valerie Hammond, Heidi Harding, Kathleen Lieber, Gabriele Neumann , Maureen Preuss, Adel Talaat, and Jyoti Watters (10 years); Carolyn Bormann, Lisa Forrest, and Gail Loughridge (20 years); and Mark Brownfield, Bruce Christensen, Susan Christenson, Ian Duncan, Oliver Ginther, Gordon Mitchell, and Ron Schultz (30 years). We were a little late on the 30-year folks since some of those listed have been at UW longer than 30 years, but I believe we’re caught up now.  Thank you for all of your efforts in support of the school!

• Several new faculty and clinical instructors have joined the SVM this year. In the Department of Surgical Sciences, Sara Colopy has just completed her PhD and is now a clinical instructor in small animal surgery.  Adam Biedrzycki is a part-time clinical instructor in large animal surgery while also pursuing his PhD. In the Department of Medical Sciences, Julie Walker has joined the department as a Clinical Assistant Professor in Emergency and Critical Care and Esther Chon (Oncology), Sharon Clare (Small Animal Internal Medicine), and Christoph Mans (Special Species - Primary Care) have come on board as clinical instructors. New clinical instructors in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences are Denise Imai (Anatomic Pathology) and Leandro Teixeira (Ocular Pathology).

• The Ambassadors planning session, Dean’s Club Luncheon, and Board of Visitors meeting were held on September 13-14. The Ambassadors--our former Board of Visitors and Development Council members--are long-term friends and key supporters of the school. This group was created to help maintain and grow our connection to these very important contributors to our success. At the Dean’s Club luncheon, which brings together key donors and supporters of the school along with the board, I had a chance to introduce them to my vision for the SVM, including the key challenges and opportunities we face. Ruthanne Chun delivered an excellent overview of the hospital’s services and its critical role in research and teaching.

• Despite some inclement weather, we had a wonderful turnout (160+) for our 4th Annual continuing education and tailgate. Thanks to all who attended and connected with our alumni and referring veterinarians. Special thanks to Doug DeBoer for running an excellent continuing education session and to our student tour guides, Chase McNulty, Sammi McGill, and Diane O'Brien.

• We had our first SVM get-together at my family’s home and nearby Marshall Park on September 28. Over 200 people were able to make this inaugural event with plenty of Smoky Jon’s barbeque to go around. As highlighted in my last message, we’ll hold get-togethers at the SVM one Friday a month. We’ll gather under the overhang if weather permits; otherwise we’ll be around the second floor lounge. The next two will be held on October 26 and November 30 from 4:30-6:00 p.m. I hope to see you there!

• The search for our new Associate Dean for Advancement and Administration is well under way. You can view the position description here http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/pvl/pv_074639.html. Applications are due October 5. Jon McAnulty has agreed to chair the search committee for this very important position.

• We will soon be posting the PVL for the school’s new CFO. Gordon Mitchell has agreed to chair the search committee for this position with the goal of having the new person on board by the beginning of 2013.

• A strategic plan for enhancing UW-Madison’s personnel system was released on September 21 by the HR Design project. The unveiling of the plan followed months of analysis, engagement, and discussion about the current state of the university’s human resources system and how it could be tailored to better fit the needs of a world-class research and teaching institution.
  
  The foundation for the plan is recommendations developed by more than 140 members of the campus community who served on 11 work teams earlier this year. After the teams issued their recommendations, there was a broad engagement period in which thousands of members of the campus community provided feedback through dozens of forums, web chats, and online surveys and polls.
  This past summer, project leaders met with governance groups and other stakeholders to integrate the recommendations and feedback into a comprehensive plan.
  
  Information sessions have been scheduled for early October across campus to accommodate various work shifts to explain the proposals and their impact on employees. You can learn more here: http://hrdesign.wisc.edu/lead-story/strategic-plan-for-a-new-uw-madison-human-resources-system/

• The UW-Madison campus has launched its “Share the Wonderful” campaign, a reinvigorated and revamped version of the university’s Annual Fund campaign. Its goal is to enhance our previous engagement with alumni and hopefully inspire them to make a gift. You can find out more about the campaign, which runs through October 31, at http://www.sharethewonderful.org/
  
  We’ll be participating in the campaign by communicating with alumni and donors through our newsletters, website, and social media sites. In keeping with the campaign theme, we hope to highlight the many wonderful aspects of SVM and VMTH. If you have something you think should be shared, please contact Nik Hawkins, our new communications director, at nihawkin@vetmed.wisc.edu or 263-6914.
  

• Our website redesign is coming along well. We held all-day working sessions in September to identify who the websites need to reach and what information and messages they need to communicate. These sessions, combined with analytics of how our sites are currently used, will guide the creation of site maps for the new pages. These sites maps will be completed this month, and the next two months will be devoted to finalizing design as well as creating and uploading content. Some of you will be asked to assist with the content creation. I thank you in advance for your support.

• Come join us for the WVMA Annual Convention, held from October 11-14 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. UW Veterinary Care will be located at booth number 325 at the meeting, and we would love for you to stop by, say hello, and catch up with all the news.

Dean Markel

Important Links

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» UW Veterinary Care
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Upcoming Events

WVMA Annual Convention
October 11-14, 2012
Alliant Energy Center

SVM Get-Together
October 26. 2012
Veterinary Medicine Building (Overhang or Second Floor Lounge)