Reflections on the future of veterinary medical education.

Dr. Keith Prasse is a very distinguished leader in veterinary education. He started his career achieving his BS and DVM degrees from Iowa State University (ISU). He returned to ISU after a brief period in private practice in Illinois. His well-recognized career in veterinary pathology began with his MS and PhD degrees, followed by a five-year period of teaching at ISU. Dr. Prasse joined the faculty of the University of Georgia in 1972, and thus began a long-term partnership with Dr. Bob Duncan that is arguably the foundation of veterinary clinical pathology. The textbook they authored, Veterinary Laboratory Medicine: Clinical Pathology, or "Duncan and Prasse" as it is known, remains the standard today, with later participation from Dr. Ed Mahaffey and most recently Dr. Ken Latimer. Dr. Prasse has mentored numerous graduate students and received many awards over his 23-year career in teaching, including the Norden Distinguished Teaching award twice, once at ISU and once at Georgia. His leadership as President of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists was greatly acknowledged and appreciated. Dr. Prasse's administrative service at the University of Georgia spanned 14 years, first as Associate Dean for Public Service and Outreach and later as Dean for eight years, during which time he served as President of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). The growth of the College of Veterinary Medicine under Dean Prasse's visionary leadership was extraordinary. He led through difficult economic and political times, yet the college and its community continued to prosper. His legacy at the University of Georgia is indelible and perpetual. His outstanding leadership of the college was recognized by the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association in 2004, when he was given the Georgia Veterinarian of the Year award. Since his retirement from Georgia, Dr. Prasse has contributed greatly to the profession and to the AAVMC by leading the Foresight project. Dr. Prasse honored those attending the 2009 AAVMC Symposium by giving the Recognition Lecture. As always, his address was inspirational, and the substance of it is included here. -Sheila W. Allen, Dean, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.

Consortia and centers of excellence: issues and answers.

As the demand for food-supply veterinarians changes, while the level of expertise necessary in this field markedly increases, there is a need to examine alternative modalities for delivering food-supply veterinary education. It seems clear that not all veterinary schools in the United States can sustain optimally sized facilities for the broad-based training in all species of food animals that the current and future food-supply veterinarian needs. An alternative model is for select schools to establish consortial centers of excellence in specific food-animal species, to which students from other schools can go for optimum final-year education. This alternative mode of food supply-veterinary medical education is discussed here.

Veterinary medical education for modern food systems: past, present, and brainstorming a future.

Concepts presented here were derived from breakout sessions constituted by the 90 attendees of the Veterinary Medical Education for Modern Food Systems symposium, held in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, in October 2005. The attendees were food-animal educators, veterinary faculty, college deans and administrators, and veterinarians employed in government, industry, and private practice. Discussions at these breakout sessions focused on four primary areas: (1) determining the data needed to document the current demand for food-supply veterinarians (FSVs); (2) defining the information/skills/abilities needed within veterinary school curricula to address the current demands on FSVs; (3) outlining pre-DVM educational requirements needed to support FSVs; and (4) considering the role of post-DVM programs in meeting the demand for FSVs.