Skip to Content- Dr. Eleanor Green
- Speaker Request
- Dean's Corner
- April 19, 2012
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- February 22, 2013
- Disaster Preparedness PSA
September 13, 2012
- Where did the summer go? It is fall again and the fall
activities are in full swing. The newly admitted DVM freshmen are
here, all 134 of them. They have been properly oriented and
are already immersed in their first semester courses. Thanks to Dr.
Kenita Rogers, Dr. Dan Posey, the Professional Programs team, and
the CVM faculty who made this orientation meaningful and memorable.
In addition, 1805 BIMS students are on campus, including 708 new
freshmen and 13 transfer students. The BIMS program has earned some
bragging rights - again. Their rate of entry to professional
schools remains excellent, their diversity numbers remain high, and
time to graduation is among the highest on campus. In addition, a
study of labor market outcomes and the defense of higher education
by a student in sociology revealed that BIMS had the highest rate
of employment or graduate study on this campus. The graduate
students are back as well. On 9-11-12, 44 new graduate
students were oriented at an event organized by Dr. Bhanu Chowdhary
and the rest of his graduate studies team. Over 60 people
were in attendance, further highlighting the importance of our
graduate program.
- Texas A&M is officially in the SEC and has experienced its
first SEC game against the University of Florida. While the
score was in favor of the Gators at the end, everyone nationwide
should read the article, "Insight by an outsider" at http://tabmetrodallas.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/74/.
This amazing observation captures the spirit of Aggieland and
explains much about our students, graduates, faculty, and
staff. We must guard this culture with all of our being.
- Whole System Genomics (WSG) is one of the eight Initial
University Multidisciplinary Research Initiatives (IUMRIs)
recommended for support from the Academic Master Plan
process. The senior faculty position is being moved from
COALS to CVM with support from Dean Mark Hussey, Dr. Russell Cross,
Dr. Penny Riggs (WSG Convener), Dr. Jim Womack, Dr. Loren Skow, and
Dr. Bhanu Chowdhary. Dr. Womack and Dr. Skow will provide
leadership until the position, a Professor with responsibilities to
serve as director of WSG, is recruited. Current efforts are
underway to make sure the WSG implementation team and membership
are engaged in the transition. I have been asked to serve as
lead dean for WSG.
- The Center for Phage Technology (CPT) is another successful
IUMRI. The CPT position is being moved from the CVM to COALS.
The CVM is still encouraged to collaborate within the CPT.
- The Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience (TAMIN) is another
successful IUMRI, and the position designated for CVM has been
filled by Dr. Joe Kornegay. Dr. Kornegay is here and settling
into his laboratory in the ILSB. In addition, Dr. Jane Welsh,
with Dr. Farida Sohrabji, has been doing an excellent job leading
this group. Their retreat was successful and they have an
ambitious plan outlined.
- Opportunities continue to present themselves to our campus and
college. One Health has been identified as one of two grand
challenges on this campus, along with Energy. Chancellor
Sharp has formed the Chancellor's Research Initiative (CRI), which
will provide $100M over three years in non-recurring funds to
advance research on this campus, such as in the form of start-up
packages, equipment, facilities, etc. President Loftin is
investing the monies saved from outsourcing into academic programs
in the form of recurring dollars for new positions and graduate
programs. His current estimate is $6M, including $4.5M for
faculty positions and $1.5M for graduate programs. President
Loftin is also designating $15M in non-recurring AUF funds to
support One Health and Energy. You will be working with your
department heads and the rest of the CVM administrative team to
develop proposals for these monies.
- With One Health being one of the Texas A&M grand challenges
and with One Health gaining traction nationwide and worldwide, our
college must be positioned to take advantage of the seemingly
unlimited opportunities. After much thought, we created a
non-tenure track position to help us do so. The position is
Assistant Dean of One Health and Strategic Initiatives. Dr.
Mike Chaddock from the AAVMC has accepted our offer and is expected
to arrive in College Station by November 1, 2012. Dr.
Chaddock is known for his organizational skills, his network
throughout the profession, his familiarity with Washington, DC, and
his collegiality. He was intimately involved with organizing
and driving NAVMEC and has a special interest in One Health.
He will help draw together the deep talent we have in the CVM,
across campus, and beyond to ensure that Texas A&M is a leader
in One Health.
- The Equine Initiative groundbreaking is scheduled for Tuesday,
October 9, 2012, from 10AM to 12PM. To date over $30M has
been raised for this collaborative initiative primarily between CVM
and AgriLife.
- I represented the CVM at the annual American Veterinary Medical
Association (AVMA) Convention held August 3-7 in San Diego. There
were many highlights where the Texas A&M CVM had the
opportunity to shine. Dr. Garry Adams, professor in Veterinary
Pathobiology, received the AVMA Lifetime Excellence in Research
Award for his work in emerging and infectious diseases and
biodefense. Dr. Leon Russell, professor in Veterinary Integrative
Biosciences, was recognized for his leadership in the World
Veterinary Association with an honorary lifetime membership in the
organization. Our college continues to be recognized as a leader in
diversity efforts. I was honored to receive an Achievement Award
from the Lesbian Gay Veterinary Medical Association on behalf of
the college and our continued efforts to create a welcoming
environment for everyone. I also want to thank our Development Team
for the wonderful reception they coordinated for our alumni,
faculty, and students. It was a great opportunity to catch up with
old friends, to share what's new in our college, and to celebrate
being Aggies. I couldn't be prouder to have been representing Texas
A&M.
- In a recent memorandum, Dr. Jeffrey Seemann, the Vice President
for Research at Texas A&M University, announced some changes in
the formula for the distribution of indirect cost (IDC) return
earned on direct expenditures for sponsored research grants and
contracts awarded to faculty at Texas A&M University. Beginning
September 1, 2012, and implemented retroactively for the final six
months of Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12), a guaranteed direct allocation
of 15 percent of IDC will now go directly back to the principal
investigators. In addition, the colleges will receive an allocation
of 35 percent of total IDC. Combined, this represents an increase
from 40 to 50 percent in the direct investment of the university to
research activities.
- You may remember a previous email that was sent announcing the
opportunity presented to our college to form a research partnership
with the Texas Heart Institute and the Texas Emerging Technology
Fund through. I am pleased to give you an update on this Texas
Emerging Technology Fund Research Superiority Award proposal. In
June we presented to the subcommittee, which supported our
advancement to the full committee. We presented to the full
committee on July 20. The full committee was supportive and
we have advanced to the TETF trustees, made up of Governor Rick
Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, and speaker Joe Straus.
We should know in the near future if we will receive this
award. The "research talent" is Dr. Doris Taylor, who created
the first beating heart in a laboratory. There are many to
thank, and I will do so later.
- I am pleased to announce that the CVM's own Dr. Kent Carter,
professor and assistant department head for animal resources in
Large Animal Clinical Sciences, has been elected as vice-president
for the American Association of Equine Practitioners. As
vice-president, Dr. Carter is following in the footsteps of former
Large Animal Clinical Sciences department head, Dr. William Moyer,
and is in line to assume the presidency of this national
organization in the near future. This nomination is a measure of
the high regard in which Dr. Carter is held by his peers.
Congratulations Dr. Carter on this tremendous honor, and for
continuing the Aggie tradition of leadership in veterinary
medicine.
- I was recently honored to have been invited to attend the Texas
A&M Association of Former Students Board of Directors meeting
in Wyoming, designated to maintaining and further building affinity
for Texas A&M. It proved to be a valuable discussion, and
I look forward to seeing how these discussions shape the future
direction of our alumni association, university, and our
college.
- Progress continues on our new Veterinary Education Building. We
have chosen an architectural firm, following an in depth interview
of six finalists, and have forwarded the name to the Chancellor for
approval. We are looking for a firm that not only reflects
our core values, but also is forward thinking and innovative when
it comes to educational design.
- Whether teaching in a classroom or clinical setting, conducting
research, or treating the animals that arrive in our hospital,
safety is important to everyone. Recently, members of the
Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in our college participated in
an injury prevention program conducted by the Environmental Health
And Safety Department at the university. As a result, Kit Darling,
Infection Control Coordinator for VMTH, and Hospital Administrator
Terry Stiles created a Safety Committee that met monthly to set
safety goals and to provide safety training that committee members
could take back to the people in their work area. Injuries
can happen anywhere, and at any time, and for this reason we are
excited to announce that the entire College of Veterinary Medicine
& Biomedical Sciences will participate in the injury prevention
program beginning in the fiscal year 2013. Each department
will have one or more representatives on the Safety Committee.
Sincerely,
Eleanor M. Green, DVM, DACVIM, DABVP
Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Texas A&M University
(979) 845-5053