Classmates from 2007 & 2008, Marcia Craig Noble, Carrie Wilson Rodriguez, Jenny Weldon and Ben Stoughton visit at the Alumni Reception during NAVC.

Welcome to the February 2009 CVM alumni e-news, an electronic newsletter designed to keep you up-to-date on college and university alumni activities and news.

Western Veterinary Conference
The Western Veterinary Conference is planned for February 15-19 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV. The college will not host an alumni reception at this conference. If you are going to WVC and would like to connect with UF alumni, let us know.

Florida Veterinary Medical Association 80th Conference
The FVMA will host its 80th Conference April 17-19 at the Marriott Waterside Resort in Tampa, Florida. The college will have an exhibit booth so stop by and visit. The college will host an alumni reception on Saturday, April 18. More info is posted on the FVMA Website.

Silver Society Weekend – Class of 1984
25th Reunion
The Class of 1984 will celebrate its 25 anniversary reunion at the Silver Society events on Saturday, April 18. The weekend events include the annual Orange and Blue Game with Heisman Trophy winner quarterback Tim Tebow (one more year!) The college will host a continental breakfast for the Class of 1984 along with the Silver Society Reception that evening. Contact Drs. Rich Kane or Octavio Blanco for more details.

CVM Open House 2009 Cancelled
The College of Veterinary Medicine has started construction on the new Veterinary Education and Clinical Research Center (VECRC). This construction has consumed the former Small Animal Hospital client parking lot, state vehicle parking area, and visitor parking area, as well as several rows of employee parking. Parking space is very limited at the college during the entire construction phase. The VECRC is scheduled for a grand opening in the Fall of 2010.

Prior to construction, questions were raised concerning having open house during the construction phase. The college formed a task force to evaluate open house effectiveness and value to the community.

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS: In consideration of the survey results and the opinions of members of the Open House Task Force, the following recommendations are hereby made:

Open House should be suspended during the construction period for the new small animal hospital. This recommendation is supported by a majority of all groups who responded to the survey instrument.

Prior to the VRCEC grand opening in 2010, another task force will plan a grand opening, open house or other public event to showcase the new facility.

Alumni Council Spring Meeting
The UF CVM Alumni Council will host its spring meeting Saturday, April 25. Dr. Dan Martin, '98, is the Alumni Council Chair and Dr. Destiny Prezzano, '05 is Chair-Elect. All class reps are encouraged to attend or send an alternate.

Previous minutes, department reports, and class rep list are posted on the Web.

Professional Coating Ceremony for
Class of 2011
The Professional Coating Ceremony for the Class of 2011 is planned for Saturday, May 9, at the University Auditorium. These 90 students will finish their classroom phase and enter the clinical training phase of their education. If you are asked to 'coat' a student, please accept. All alumni are invited to attend and see the new faces of veterinary medicine.

UF CVM Homecoming Celebration 2009
Save the Date: CVM Alumni Homecoming Celebration is planned for Saturday, November 7 with the Florida Gators taking on Vanderbilt Commodores. Football tickets and a pre-game meal celebration are being planned. Hotel info in posted on the Web site.

The annual UF Homecoming Celebration is October 17.

State budget cuts $75M from UF
According to a recent memo from UF President Machen, the state budget projects a deficit for the coming fiscal year. UF will sustain a $75M reduction in state money. The President has challenged all college deans to prepare for a budget cut of 10 percent.

More information is posted on UF's Web site.

LACS Chair Green heads to Texas
In December 2008, Dr. Eleanor M. Green was named dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University. Green takes over March 1. Green was selected through a nationwide search and will become the first woman to serve as dean of that college.

Green has been with the UF College of Veterinary Medicine Large Animal Clinical Sciences department since 1996.

Himes Scholarship Goes Over $110,000
Donations have poured in since the death of Dr. James Himes in November 2008. These donations have enabled the James Himes Alumni Scholarship Fund to rise to the level of $110,000.

Thanks to all alumni who gave to the Himes Scholarship. An on-line giving form is available here.

Alumni Reception at NAVC Draws Huge Crowd
The annual alumni reception during NAVC took in over 200 alumni and their families. The Class of 2000 represented the largest group in attendance. There were babies, newly engaged alumni and lots of new spouses, too!

CVM Faculty member Dr. James Bailey and son James, visit with friends from the Class of 2000, Lauren Prather, Rob Marens (guest), Bill Bean, and Melissa Adamson

Vet Med Research & Graduate Program Welcomes New Alumni
The following people completed their non-thesis, thesis and dissertations by December 2008 and were awarded their advanced degrees.

Web-based non-thesis Master's in Forensic Toxicology: Christine Clark, Julie Huss, Alexis Little, Kelly Magurany, Jennifer Richardson, Laura Rowe, Susan Skilly-Danziger, Trava Soltis and Judith Strack.

Thesis-based Master's in Veterinary Medicine Sciences: Stanley Kim, DVM, MS, and Thomas Rinkoski, MS

These doctoral students successfully defended their dissertations by December 2008: Sarah Chan, PhD, Maggie Kellogg, PhD, and Brian Stacy, PhD.

Alumni Deaths
Dr. Jeff Philpot, '83 and Dr. Eric Marc Daly, '00 both passed away in 2008.

Dr. Jeff Philpot passed away November 2, 2008 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Philpot established the Newberry Animal Hospital in the Gainesville area.

Dr. Eric Marc Daly passed away December 5, 2008 from an apparent heart attack. Daly practiced with Riverside Animal Hospital in the Portsmouth, Rhode Island area. Daly leaves behind his wife and two small children.

In Memoriam is a list of alumni we have lost over the years.

Class Reunions
Class reps for 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004, should start talking about class reunions for 2009.

For assistance with planning a class reunion, contact Jo Ann Winn. Individual class reunion plans will be posted on the Web.

To stay abreast of what's happening at UF, visit the main Web site and click on Inside UF. This is a listing of all UF top news stories and news makers, calendar of events and other notables.

Show your Gator Pride
Show your Gator Pride by purchasing a State of Florida UF License Tag when you renew your car tag.

For an additional $25 a year, you can have a UF Gator Nation car tag. The proceeds benefit general scholarships and academic advancement at UF. Get your license plate on-line today!

Alumni magazines online
UF's alumni magazines Florida and UF Today are now offered online. The Web sites add a little extra flavor that won't be found in the printed publications — such as additional pictures, audio interviews, slideshows and videos.

Features in the fall issue include Gator tailgating recipes, a look at the freshmen experience, and images from artist Maggie Taylor's exhibit, "Almost Alice." Visit the Alumni Magazine on-line.

Looking for a classmate?
The UF Alumni Association has a brand-new online directory. It's completely searchable and vastly expanded over the previous version. This is just one of the many membership benefits. Not a member? Sign Up Online Now!