Fall 2019

When the WSU’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine class of 2019 was thinking about how they wanted to give back, the choice seemed obvious: The Clinical Simulation Center .

“Our class wanted to support such a great program that we are lucky to have at our school,” says 2019 class president, Lida Gehlen. “The simulation center is a great resource that taught us new skills and helped us hone skills that we are now using in our careers.”

In 1966 when Norm Rantanen (’67 DVM, ’71 M.S.) was in his third year of veterinary school, he signed up for the early commissioning program with the U.S. Air Force. When the time came for him and his wife Marlene to be stationed for his first assignment with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at the Walter Reed Army post in Washington, D.C., the young couple found they needed a little financial help to make the move. They applied for the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine student loan fund and received $300.

“It meant a lot to us at the time to get that money,” says Marlene. “We paid it back at $10 a month and just never quit.”

It happened again that morning. During their rounds, zookeepers found another tank of dead blue poison dart frogs. The tiny azure amphibians, native to South American rainforests, had been enjoying a successful breeding program at the Smithsonian National Zoo. Now, inexplicably, they were dying from a mysterious skin disease and the cause remained elusive.

In our last Advance Newsletter, Dean Bryan Slinker opened with the phrase “change is afoot.” He discussed his upcoming retirement and reflected on all the positive changes and accomplishments over the last 11 years under his outstanding leadership.

Well, change is still afoot. Bryan’s plans changed on September 30 when President Schulz asked him to step in as WSU’s interim provost.