College of Veterinary Medicine Category
04.27.2013
The Alumni Association is honoring 21 NC State professors with the 2013 Faculty Awards for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Dr. Sam Jones, a professor of equine medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Jones is one of two professors being recognized as Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professors.
What prompted you to become a professor? I realized that I enjoyed teaching while I was an intern and then decided to make teaching part of my career when I was a resident — I particularly like one-on-one teaching like we do in the teaching hospital with veterinary students and in the lab with graduate students. I enjoy the discussion, free flow of ideas and information, and the impact of learning in this active environment. I also learn as much or more from the veterinary students and graduate students during these discussions.
What are the keys to being a successful teacher/professor? The key is to know your subject (of course!) and care about what you are teaching and your students. Passion is a great motivator, and when a teacher is passionate about the subject, students are inspired, more engaged, and learn more. Humor helps!
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? My greatest joy is seeing students I teach in the hospital and in the lab develop and become successful scientists and clinicians. The students I teach in the hospital and in the lab are my professional children and I get tremendous satisfaction when then do well. I always say that I can have the greatest impact on my profession and science by helping train outstanding clinician scientists who rise to the challenges of veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences.
04.23.2013
Many animals have passed through the halls of NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine through the years, but none more famous than the storied Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.
Those Clydesdales, routinely featured in annual Super Bowl beer commercials, came to Raleigh to help celebrate the opening of the vet school on this day in 1983. And they were the first horses ever to be kept in the school’s stables.
But, according to the Technician, the Clydesdales weren’t here just to celebrate the event at NC State. They themselves had something to commemorate.
“The new school’s opening coincides with the 50th anniversary of the the repeal of prohibition,” a 1983 Technician reports. “In that year, 1933, one member of the Busch family gave the Clydesdales to his father to celebrate the repeal of prohibition. The horses have practically become an American institution since then.”
01.25.2013
NC State University, the Wolfpack Club and the Alumni Association will recognize some of NC State’s greatest stars tonight at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C., honoring 18 alumni and friends of the university for their professional and personal accomplishments and their continuing support of NC State, the Wolfpack Club and the Alumni Association.
The honorees at the 9th Annual NC State Evening of Stars are:
COLLEGE DISTINGUISHED AWARD RECIPIENTS
Tommy Bunn ‘66, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Bunn, president of the U.S. Tobacco Cooperative, has spent more than 45 years in the tobacco industry. He got his start growing tobacco on his family farm, then went on to work for 21 years as executive vice president of the Leaf Tobacco Exporters Association and the Tobacco Association of the United States. He also worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the N.C. Department of Agriculture, and was a charter member and chairman of the Golden Leaf Foundation Board of Directors.
Charlie Stuber ‘65 PhD, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: For more than 35 years, Stuber held a joint appointment as a genetics professor at NC State and a research geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. Stuber then came out of retirement to return to NC State in 2006 to develop and direct the Center for Plant Breeding and Applied Plant Genomics. The USDA Agricultural Research Service named him the Outstanding Scientist of the Year in 1989 and inducted Stuber into their Science Hall of Fame in 1989.
Steven Schuster ‘73, College of Design: Schuster is the founding principal of Clearscapes, a full-service architectural design firm in Raleigh. Under Schuster’s leadership, Clearscapes has been recognized with more than 75 design awards and worked on such notable projects as the Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, the Haw River Ball Room, the Raleigh Convention Center and the Contemporary Art Museum. Schuster is also a national leader in the historic preservation community. He serves on the Board of Visitors at NC State.
Robert Bridges ‘70 MED, College of Education: Bridges taught sixth grade and then high school in Wake County before becoming principal at Crosby-Garfield Elementary School. He then went on to work in Wake County’s central office as a director, assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent before becoming the superintendent in 1984. After five years leading the state’s second largest public school system, Bridges went on to become provost at St. Augustine College in Raleigh, and then worked as an education and management consultant and chaired the N.C. Advisory Commission on Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps.
Stephen Angel, ‘77, College of Engineering: Angel is chair, president and CEO of Praxair, Inc., a Fortune 300 company that ranks as the largest industrial gases producer and distributor in North and South America, with sales of $11 billion in 2011. Before joining Praxair, Angel spent more than two decades at GE, most recently as general manager of the company’s $2 billion power equipment business. He serves on the board of directors of the U.S.-China Business Council and PPG Industries, and is a member of the Business Roundtable, the Business Council and the U.S.-Brazil Forum.
Jimmy Clark ‘74, College of Engineering: Clark is the owner and president of Guy M. Turner, Inc., a diversified company that is a leader in the handling and moving of the heaviest equipment in the fields of rigging, machine tool installation, crane services and specialized transportation. The company has 12 offices in the United States and Canada. Clark serves on the NC State Board of Trustees, as well as on the board of directors for the NC State Alumni Association and the Engineering Foundation. He previously chaired the NC State Board of Visitors.
John Edmond ‘87, College of Engineering: While earning his PhD in material sciences and engineering, Edmond teamed with other graduate students and young faculty on some promising silicon carbide research. Upon graduation, the group co-founded what became CREE Inc., one of the world’s top LED manufacturers. Today, Edmond is director of advanced optoelectronics for the Durham-based company, which makes energy-efficient LED lights, lighting components and semiconductor products.
Susan Warren Rabon ‘82, College of Humanities and Social Sciences: Rabon is a member of the N.C. Utilities Commission, which regulates the rates and services of all of the state’s public utilities. Rabon, who received her law degree from the University of Virginia, has also worked as a clerk in the N.C. Court of Appeals, as special counsel and then chief of staff for the N.C. Department of Justice, and senior assistant for administration in the office of the governor. She has previously served on the NC State Board of Visitors.
Kevin Beasley ‘79, Poole College of Management: Beasley, a CPA, is a partner-in-charge of tax practice at the Raleigh office of Grant Thornton, one of the Big Six international accounting firms. He previously worked at Arthur Anderson, where he rose to the position of partner and earned a spot in the inaugural class of the NC State Accounting Hall of Fame.
Ray Tanner ‘80, College of Natural Resources: Tanner, a former All-ACC baseball player at NC State, was named athletics director for the University of South Carolina last year after spending 25 years as a collegiate head baseball coach, including nine years as the head coach at NC State. Under Tanner’s direction, the baseball team at South Carolina won two NCAA Division I Baseball Championships and made six appearances in the College World Series. Tanner has been named National Coach of the Year three times.
Sung Won Lee, ‘60 MS, ‘67 PhD, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences: After earning his graduate degrees at NC State, Lee returned to his native South Korea to lead the S-Oil Corporation to success as the third largest oil refinery in Korea. He also served as chairman of two South Korean chemical companies. But his passion is downhill skiing, and his family built Korea’s oldest and largest ski and snowboard resort, which will host alpine skiing events for the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2018 Winter Paralympics. Lee is founder and president of the Asian Ski Federation, former vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia and honorary president of the Korean Ski Association.
Michael Fralix ‘00 PhD, College of Textiles: Fralix is the president and CEO of [TC]2, a company that develops next generation supply chain technologies such as 3-D body scanners used in product development for apparel and equipment, made-to-measure clothing, clothing size and style recommendations and body shape analysis.
Dr. Laura Rush ‘97 DVM, College of Veterinary Medicine: Rush began her career as a registered nurse, specializing in the care of cancer patients, before going to vet school. Following graduation, she joined the faculty at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and headed a laboratory funded by the National Institute of Health that focused on cancer research in dogs and humans. Rush now works as vice president and associate medical director for GSW Worldwide, a healthcare marketing firm where she helps develop marketing strategies for healthcare companies.
WOLFPACK CLUB AWARD
Nora Lynn Finch, Ronnie Shavlik Award: Finch was a pioneer for collegiate women’s athletics, serving as the ACC’s first female assistant athletics director and negotiated the first women’s basketball tournament television contract with CBS. At NC State, Finch served as head volleyball and softball coach, associate head coach for women’s basketball, and assistant, associate and senior associate athletics director. She is currently the ACC’s associate commissioner for women’s basketball operations and senior women’s administrator. She has been inducted into the National Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARDS
Ryan DeJong ‘05, Outstanding Young Alumnus: DeJong, chief operating officer of FIRM Consulting Group, has led the Tampa NC State Alumni Network since 2007. As network leader, DeJong has aggressively promoted his alma mater and the Alumni Association. He recruits and manages volunteers to staff local college fairs and plans many types of group activities for his fellow Tampa Wolfpackers.
Sherice Nivens ‘98, Outstanding Young Alumnus: Nivens, cardiac sales manager for Intuitive Surgical, is a member of the PAMS Alumni and Friends Advisory Board and a founding member of the Dean’s Circle. She served as the keynote speaker for the 2009 Department of Chemistry graduation ceremony and the 2010 Society of African American Physical and Mathematical Scientists annual banquet.
Bill Collins ‘54, ‘61 MS, Meritorious Service Award: Collins, a world renowned expert in tobacco field production, was a Philip Morris Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for 28 years. Since retiring in 2005, Collins joined the CALS Office of College Advancement as senior director of development. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Alumni Association.
Judi Grainger ‘72 MS, Meritorious Service Award: Grainger served as president of the Alumni Association board of directors in 2011 and served for a total of 14 years on the board. She also serves on the NC State Board of Visitors, the College of Education Advisory Board and the board of directors of The State Club.
01.01.2013
Joab Thomas was not from North Carolina and had no connection to NC State, having earned all his degrees at Harvard University. His strongest ties were to the University of Alabama, where he had taught botany before serving in several administrative roles.
And the man he would succeed as chancellor at NC State, John T. Caldwell, was popular and visible on campus.
Yet on this day in 1976, Joab Thomas became the chancellor at NC State.
“He came to N.C. State because he was impressed by the institution’s potential and the state’s commitment to higher education,” according to Alice Elizabeth Reagan’s North Carolina State University: A Narrative History.
“Thomas’ personality was different from Caldwell’s; he tended to be much more low-key and less visible,” Reagan wrote. “He considered his task one of fine-tuning the university and its programs, and he sought to give priority to quality on every level.”
Thomas stayed at at NC State for almost six years, leaving to become the president of the University of Alabama. He later served as president of Penn State University.
Thomas was recognized for establishing the Caldwell Fellows scholarship program, which is now administered by the Alumni Association, and leading the university to establish the College of Veterinary Medicine. Thomas was supportive of NC State’s library as it completed a campaign to increase the holdings in D.H. Hill Library to one million books. Thomas oversaw the establishment of the NC Japan Center, and the construction of the McKimmon Center, Bostian Hall, Caldwell Hall and Kamphoefner Hall.
Enrollment at NC State grew from 16,903 to 21,169 during Thomas’ tenure.
“He made excellence in academics and research his top priorities, placing strong emphasis on developing major endowments for merit scholarships, increasing funds for professorships, strengthening the University’s library, and upgrading research facilities and resources,” read an account in the NC State alumni magazine when Thomas was presented with the university’s Award of Merit in 1985.
In 2009, the former Southwest Gardner Hall was renamed Thomas Hall in honor of NC State’s ninth chancellor.
Thomas, in a 1996 article in the alumni magazine, fondly recalled his time at NC State.
“When I arrived I found it was a much better institution than I had thought and better than anybody here thought,” he said. “I wanted to make it clear we had to get over this inferiority complex and realize we were first-class. I reminded everyone: The only way an object to the west can cast its shadow on you is when the sun is setting on it.”
11.09.2012
About 40 alumni and friends of the university gathered in Winston-Salem, N.C., last night to hear about collaborative work being done with regenerative medicine by faculty at NC State and Wake Forest University.
The group gathered at Bib’s Downtown to hear presentations from Jorge Piedrahita, director of the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine; Richard Wysk, the Dopaco Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering; and John Jackson, an assistant professor at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
The professors talked about advances that can be made when engineering experts work with researchers in veterinary medicine and human medicine. They responded to several questions from the audience, which was excited to learn about the work being done with kidneys, ears and skin.
09.21.2012
From fire protection to canines to foreign languages, NC State’s researchers and professors bring a range of expertise in their efforts to help the nation’s military.
“The work that research universities do to support our military has never been more important,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said at the opening this afternoon of the university’s Military Appreciation Day program at the Park Alumni Center. The events are part of the university’s yearlong celebration of NC State’s 125th anniversary.
ROTC cadets help NC State celebrate its 125th anniversary
Terri Lomax, vice chancellor for research and innovation, said the university is home to partnerships between the Department of Defense and the USDA that offer programs to military kids, including camps for children and financial advice for families.
And with a photo of Gen. Custer and his favorite companion animal on a screen behind her, Lomax noted that dogs have long had a place in the military. Today, the College of Veterinary Medicine is working with the government to select the breeds that can best be trained to detect IEDs and to identify the most accurate training methods.
For the Navy, NC State researchers are developing a “wrinkled surface” that can be applied to the sides of ships to prevent barnacles from attaching — saving fuel and cleaning costs, Lomax said.
And at the College of Textiles, researchers continue to use PyroMan, a full-size simulated model that helps textile engineers determine what kind of fibers best protect the human body from heat and flame.
“We can show where second- and third-degree burns are likely to develop,” said Roger Barker, the Burlington Chair in Textile Technology and director of the Textiles Protection and Comfort Center (T-PACC).
The college has also developed another set of models — PyroHand and PyroHead — to help researchers understand the effect of radiant thermal energy from IEDs on extremities.
Plans are in the works, he said, to develop a “dynamic” version of PyroMan that moves so that the effects of fire can be simulated in motion.
“Our mission is to serve and protect the men and women who serve in our military, and for that we are very grateful,” Barker said.
In addition to technical research, the university’s foreign language department is contributing to partnerships with the military. ROTC students are being given the opportunity to learn “critical language skills” in Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Urdu, said Dwight Stephens, director of the Integrated Research Learning Initiative. The training is designed to help the students understand other cultures and become “warrior-diplomats” who can participate in conflict resolution, he said.
Speaking of NC State’s history of military leadership, Woodson noted that the university counts more than 60 admirals and generals among its alumni — just behind the service academies and The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute.
—Sylvia Adcock
09.19.2012
Taylor Cooke lives in Austin, Texas, so he is surrounded by fans of the University of Texas. Burnt orange, the color of the Texas Longhorns, is everywhere.
So it’s not surprising that Cooke, a 2004 NC State graduate, is eager to bring a little Wolfpack red to his environment. He’s doing so as the NC State Alumni Network leader for the Austin area, organizing events to watch NC State football and basketball games and, this year, a community service project tied to Wolfpack Service Day.
“I thought State was big, and it is,” Cooke says. “But the University of Texas has 50,000 to 60,000 enrolled, so they just pump them out. It’s pretty huge.”
Cooke moved to Austin in 2006 after finding a job recruiting medical sales people. He enjoyed getting together with other NC State alumni in the area to watch Wolfpack games at local bars. A few years ago, he was asked if he would take the lead in running the local network.
“It’s more fun to watch the games in groups, or packs, so to speak,” he says.
Cooke says its not unusual to get 15-20 Wolfpack alumni and friends to show up to watch a game together. Nearly 30 NC State fans got together last year to watch NC State’s basketball team take on Kansas in the Sweet 16. “We get spikes for any UNC game,” Cooke says.
Alumni in Austin get together at a network event
Cooke is traveling back to campus this weekend to take part in the Alumni Association’s Volunteer Leadership Conference. The volunteers will hear from top university officials about ways that alumni can reconnect with NC State. They will also get pointers from Alumni Association staffers on everything from how to plan a great event to effective communications strategies. The weekend will include a tour of the College of Veterinary Medicine, dinner at the University Club and Saturday’s football game against The Citadel.
Cooke says he looks forward to swapping ideas for events with leaders from other alumni networks around the country.
“Cities that aren’t close to Raleigh probably have the same problems we do,” he says. “It can be hard to get the word out to everybody. I’m interested in ideas they’ve had for successful events.”
Besides, Cooke says, it was hard to pass up a chance to get back to NC State and away from all that burnt orange, even if only for a couple of days.
“I haven’t been back to campus in forever,” he says.
08.27.2012
NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine consistently ranks as one of the top programs of its kind in the country. But it was a program not without controversy when educational leaders from around the state argued for its establishment 45 years ago. When the dust settled, on this day in 1981, the inaugural class of 40 students took the first veterinary medicine classes ever held on NC State’s campus.
Alice Elizabeth Reagan writes in her North Carolina State University: A Narrative History that leaders first explored the establishment of a vet school in the late 1960s, when the Southern Regional Education Board’s regional programs in veterinary medicine said it lacked enough room for its own students. Until that point, the SREB allowed North Carolina veterinary students to attend the University of Georgia, Auburn University and Oklahoma State University. With those students needing somewhere else to go, the N.C. Veterinary Association made a formal request to establish a school at NC State, which, in turn, established an advisory committee in 1970.
Governor Bob Scott also appointed a committee, and in 1971 it echoed the support for a vet school at NC State. The General Assembly and the Board of Governors both supported NC State as the site in 1973. Reagan writes that it was at this point that N.C. A&T State University threw its name in the hat for the location of the new vet school at its campus in Greensboro, N.C. Outside consultants identified NC State as the better option, and officials from N.C. A&T charged discrimination and sought help from what was then called the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). “HEW responded by proclaiming that the University of North Carolina was at fault for not taking into consideration the racial impact of the veterinary school decision,” Reagan writes, adding that UNC system president William “Bill” Friday ‘41 argued against the A&T location. The controversy then reached its most tenuous moment when HEW officials said they would halt federal dollars from coming into the UNC system if the vet school found its home at NC State. Friday finally went to Washington, D.C., to reach a resolution and “in October, 1975, HEW officials reluctantly withdrew their objection.”
After a U.S. District Court judge denied an injunction that N.C. A&T alumni had sought to stop the school, the General Assembly appropriated $2.5 million for the new school in 1977. And then the ball was rolling at NC State. Reagan writes that faculty recruitment and the construction of the school by the fairgrounds began in 1978. Four departments were created in 1980 (Anatomy, Physiology, and Radiology; Companion Animal and Special Species Medicine; Microbiology, Pathology and Parasitology; and Food Animal and Equine Medicine). And in the fall of 1981, the school’s first class took to the labs for the very first time.
07.11.2012
In 1996, President Bill Clinton commissioned the National Science and Technology Council to create an award celebrating emerging researchers in the fields of science and technology at the outset of their careers.
The result was the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The PECASE award is given annually to a group of researchers who “show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the twenty-first century.”
While working on a story that appears in the upcoming issue of NC State magazine on NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City, N.C., we discovered that three Wolfpack alumni now working in various departments at the neighboring National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s lab in Beaufort have been honored with the award. Each was cited for his award and attended an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., the following year. We caught up with the winners to tell us about their research, their award experience and what their honors say about NC State.
Kyle Shertzer ‘97 MR, ‘01 PHD works in stock assessment at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center. He was given the PECASE award in 2003 for his research on evolution and population dynamics of fisheries. Shertzer studies how populations of certain species of fish change over time, focusing his work on how fishing can affect the biology of fish, which can, in turn, affect the optimal rates at which fishermen can pull fish from the sea.
What sticks out about the awards ceremony…You go to the White House to receive the award at a banquet. Being versed in that is not my normal routine. …It was during the fall of 2004. [George W. Bush] was busy campaigning, so he didn’t show up. That part was disappointing, but his science adviser was there.
What the award says about NC State…It makes the case that the graduate programs there are strong. People coming out of those programs are competitive at the national and international levels. The programs are top-notch in the country. (Photo by Marc Hall)
Chris Taylor ‘99 MS, ‘04 PHD is a research ecologist at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. He received the PECASE award in 2009 for his work in using underwater sonar to better understand fish and their ecosystems. “We’re trying to get a picture of fish under water,” he says.
His feelings the day of the awards ceremony…We started off with a brunch that just was with members of NOAA and the Department of Commerce. It was then that I realized there were some very intelligent people who won the award. And I was surprised I was one of them.
The moment that sticks out the most…The most special moment was standing there on the bleachers, joking around with everybody until the Secret Service walked in. And President Obama walked in and you could feel everyone leaning toward him, like flowers toward the sun. It was very magnetic. (Photo Courtesy of the National Ocean Service)
James Morris ‘09 PHD is an ecologist at the Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research. He grew up in Carteret County, N.C., a son of a six-generation fishing family. He was honored with the PECASE award in 2010 for his research on the biology and ecological impacts of lionfish invasions in the southeast United States and the Caribbean.
Remembering President Obama’s remarks…He spoke to us a while about picking winners, that we need to pick winners. We’ve led the world in space exploration. In the future, we’re going to have to pick winners. He addressed how, in the room, there was a significant amount of capital.
What the award means to Morris…I don’t get to claim credit for this by myself. There are so many professors, mentors and family members who’ve helped me. …It was a rewarding and unique experience. I couldn’t help but think what my grandfather would have thought, the same little boy who was out on a shrimp boat with him was shaking the president’s hand because of his accomplishments in marine science. (Photo courtesy of the National Ocean Service)
07.09.2012
James Morris ‘09 PHD spends his time plotting defenses for invasions. No, he doesn’t work for the Department for Homeland Security, and he’s not in the military.
Morris, who did his doctoral work at NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST), is an ecologist at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research in Beaufort, N.C. In our upcoming issue of NC State magazine, we profile his work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on invasive species, like Asian tiger shrimp and lionfish, that have come into North Carolina’s waters. (Photo courtesy of the National Ocean Service)
But Morris’ work goes beyond those invasive pests. He’s also a leading researcher in the field of aquaculture, which is the cultivation of marine species and aquatic life for either consumption by humans or for use in biofuels. From its use on trout or catfish farms to its implementation in the ocean, aquaculture is a science that’s meaning more these days with the demand for seafood constantly growing while supplies are flatlining.
“There are job creation opportunities,” Morris says. “There are a lot of reasons we think marine aquaculture is poised to expand.”
One of Morris’ areas of focus is on cage culture. It’s a technique where fish are cultivated in a large aquapods, like the one seen in the picture here (photo by Snapperfarm), or cages, that are submerged in the ocean. Up until recently, it has been used in a few areas in the country, like the Northwest, where cages have been used to cultivate salmon. Morris says there’s also cage culture in the Northeast and in the Bahamas.
With advances in the engineering of those cages, which can actually be steered now, and the research that Morris does concerning the impacts on marine life and water quality, cage culture could expand in the U.S.
“Many of those impacts can be avoided if siting happens in a proper way,” Morris says. “We could see activity in the Gulf of Mexico. There’s activity in the Southwest.”
But Morris doesn’t forecast a growing cage culture for North Carolina, where it’s never been tried.
“In the Southeast, it’s going to be difficult to do aquaculture in the sea,” Morris says. “It just gets so rough. It’s such a shallow shelf. I’m not saying it’s not completely doable, but we’re not sure about it right now.”
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