Deborah Kochevar

2009 Outstanding Alumni
Deborah T. Kochevar, '81

Throughout her career, Dr. Deborah T. Kochevar has made significant contributions to the field of veterinary medicine, through her distinguished teaching, administrative service and research. She is currently the Henry and Lois Foster Professor and Dean of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, MA. Prior to her appointment as Dean in August 2006, Dr. Kochevar was Associate Dean for Professional Programs and held the Wiley Chair of Veterinary Medical Education at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. She was also a professor of veterinary physiology and pharmacology, holding a joint appointment in medical physiology. She was on the faculty at Texas A&M from 1987-2006 and served periods of time as acting dean in 2004 and 2005.

Dr. Kochevar received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Texas A&M University in 1981, followed by a PhD degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 1987. She was a National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award Fellow from 1984-86. In the mid-1990s, she spent a year in Washington, DC, as a Congressional Science Fellow to the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.

As Dean at the Cummings School, she has been an advocate for the profession of veterinary medicine. She is a member of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association's steering committee and is actively engaged with the other New England region veterinary medical associations. She is a boarded diplomate and past president of the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology and is active in the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), having twice chaired its Council on Education and served on the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates and the Council on Research. She recently co-Chaired an Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Educational Symposium titled, "Assessing Clinical Competency - Our Professional Responsibility" (March 2008).

Dr. Kochevar has won many teaching awards during her career, including the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award (1991, 1995), the Student American Veterinary Medical Association National Teaching Award in Basic Science (1996), and the university level Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching at Texas A&M (1993). She has received numerous grants for education and curriculum development and participated in educational outreach projects funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science. Her research in cell and molecular biology and pharmacology has been funded by the American Heart Association, the United States Department of Agriculture, and corporate sponsors.

Dr. Kochevar serves as a corporate board director with Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. She also serves on the boards of the Cummings Foundation, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, JM Holdings, the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, the Ecotarium, and the Grafton Affordable Housing Trust.

Dr. Kochevar, her husband John and their two sons Chris and Steven miss the warmth of Texas but are enjoying the attractions of the Northeast including theater, great seafood and outdoor activities such as cycling and skiing.