October 2025

Greetings!

I hope the first month of the new academic year has treated all members of the School of Veterinary Medicine community well. While we’re just a few weeks in, I’ve been blown away by the enthusiasm of our students, faculty, and staff.

Last month, I shared more about the SVM’s new five-year strategic plan. In the coming months, I will use this message to share additional information about the pillars of the plan.

Today, I’d like to focus on how our new initiatives will put us on the leading edge of educating the next generation of veterinarians.

The SVM is committed to fostering an environment where students thrive both personally and professionally. With our newly launched OnWard curriculum, and through our commitment to our legacy curriculum, we continue to train confident, skilled veterinarians ready to meet the evolving needs of the profession and their communities. Data we collect helps us continuously improve the learning experience for our students and refine recruitment and admissions to attract top-tier candidates.

To ensure veterinary education remains accessible, we’re expanding scholarships, supporting debt relief efforts (including rural loan forgiveness), and building partnerships with organizations that support students. We are leveraging philanthropy to grow our DVM/PhD program and recently secured a new endowment that allows us to increase our cohort from one to two students each year.

Finally, we’re actively working with campus partners and architects to assess our educational spaces, with the aspiration of modernizing our educational facilities to support our OnWard curriculum and accommodate class size growth.

Until next time, work hard, have fun, and enjoy the start of fall.

On, Wisconsin!

Jon

PS – As you may be aware, a federal government shutdown went into effect overnight. We are closely monitoring possible impacts to the School of Veterinary Medicine. We will work collaboratively, under the guidance of UW-Madison leadership, to provide support, limit disruption, and disseminate information. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will update a website for principal investigators and other members of the research community, sharing the latest information and details. Other campus resources can be found in this news release and on the UW Federal Relations page.

Alumni tailgate highlights: SVMAA awards, new courtyard, sculpture dedication

Many thanks to the alumni, students, faculty, and staff who joined us for our annual Badger football tailgate on Sept. 20!

The first event held in the new outdoor courtyard that connects SVM North and South, the event marks the completion of a significant phase of the school’s recent expansion. Our modernized and expanded facilities support our work to create the future of veterinary medicine and reflect our commitment to innovative education, groundbreaking research, and fostering health and well-being – for communities across Wisconsin and around the world.

During the tailgate, we celebrated the unveiling of Forward Together, a 3,000-pound bronze sculpture created by alumnus John Hallett (DVM ’90). The sculpture honors the journey of veterinary medical students and will be a permanent fixture in the courtyard. The SVM extends a special thanks to Margo and Jack Edl, whose generous matching gift helped make the sculpture possible.

In addition, the School of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Association (SVMAA) recognized two outstanding graduates with the 2025 Alumni Distinguished Service Awards for their exceptional contributions to veterinary medicine, biomedical science, and the broader community.

Dr. Kathryn Meurs, a 1990 graduate, is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in veterinary cardiology and genetics. She currently serves as dean of the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine and is this year’s DVM recipient of the award.
Dr. Mary Haak-Frendscho earned her PhD in Veterinary Science from UW in 1991 and has built a remarkable career spanning academia, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical innovation. She currently serves as president and CEO of Spotlight Therapeutics and is this year’s graduate program award recipient.

Learn more about the 2025 award recipients here.

SVM news briefs

Have news or announcements to share for future editions of Message from the Dean? Share them with the communications team by clicking here.

I want to extend a big thank you to the facilities and IT teams for their work preparing for last month’s electrical shutdown in SVM South. Their hard work — in the middle of the night! — helped ensure the process went smoothly. Their work, often unseen, is key to preventing problems before they happen. Thank you to both teams for all they do to enable our faculty, staff, and students to do their great work!
Cady McGehee-Siemers (DVMx’26) won the student presentation competition at last month’s American Association of Bovine Practitioners annual conference. She presented on a case series she saw during last year’s World Dairy Expo. Congratulations!
Congratulations to Vivian Nguyen, an MD/PhD student in the lab of Johanna Elfenbein (Department of Pathobiological Sciences), who won the Nancy J. Gouker Best Poster Award at the UW-Madison Department of Bacteriology Raper Symposium. Her work defines the bacterial response to sulfites, which has implications for the fields of host-pathogen interactions and food safety.
Tony Goldberg (Department of Pathobiological Sciences) recently had a paper accepted for publication in Parasitology. The paper, Infestation of humans and nonhuman primates with Cordylobia rodhaini (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in a “hotspot” of furuncular myiasis, describes an obscure parasite Goldberg discovered … in his own armpit after returning from fieldwork at Kibale National Park in Uganda. Well done!
Finally, please join us in welcoming these new team members to UWVC:
Kyah Gass, a certified veterinary technician who joined the float team.
Sheryl Jones, a certified veterinary technician who joined the intermediate care ward.
Jeana Lambert joined the emergency and critical care services as a veterinary assistant.
Mandy Shelton joined the clinical pathology team as a medical laboratory technician.
Avianna Hite joined the reception team as a client services specialist.

Media mentions

David Gasper (PhD’15, Department of Pathobiological Sciences) and anatomic pathology resident Dalia Badamo were featured in a recent CBS58 story about the SVM’s work on a necropsy following the death of Ruth, a 43-year-old elephant at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The necropsy will help determine what contributed to her failing health.
Lyric Bartholomay (PhD’04; Department of Pathobiological Sciences) joined Milwaukee’s WISN to discuss how a rainy summer has led to the recent wave of mosquitoes greeting Wisconsin residents enjoying outdoor activities.
Kristen Bernard (MS’92 PhD’95; Department of Pathobiological Sciences) spoke with WPR about the virus causing hornlike growths in rabbits that have been spotted in northern Wisconsin and other states. The Shope virus cannot be transmitted to humans, Bernard says, but it can be spread by insects and ticks among animals.
Alumnus Terrence Clark (DVM’87 PhD’94) was inducted into the Green Bay School District Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class. Clark is a former member of our Board of Visitors and currently serves as president and CEO of Nexcyon Pharmaceuticals.
Sheila McGuirk (Department of Medical Sciences) spoke with Milwaukee’s WTMJ radio station about biosecurity efforts at the World Dairy Expo. She underscored the important role SVM students play in ensuring a safe and healthy event while gaining valuable skills to use in their future careers.