Monuments to Veterinary Medicine, Part 2

Donald F. Smith, Cornell University

July 9, 2014

The oral interview is an effective way to capture the history of veterinary medicine and also honor those whose impact on the profession might otherwise have been lost. This is the second part in a five-part series on oral interviews I conducted starting in 2007.1

One of my challenges in conducting and preserving these interviews is determining the boundaries for reporting where accuracy and comprehensiveness clash with confidentiality and good taste. Sometimes the lines were clear, such as when a nonagenarian alumnus in the midst of telling me about student life in the 1930s, shared a disgusting anti-Semitic quote that had been made by one of the instructors while he and a Jewish student had been on clinical duty together 70 years earlier. As he told me the story, seemingly reliving it for the first time in decades, he turned his head and gazed across the room from his seat on the living room sofa. His voice, which had been soft and sensitive, turned abrasive and discordant as he blurted out the offensive remark. Almost involuntarily, he snapped his head back, looked straight into my eyes and, with a trembling voice demanded, “You won’t write that, will you?” I assured him that I would delete that segment from the tape (which I did), and we proceeded with the interview. For me, that was a responsible way to handle that situation, and I have not repeated the remark either orally or in writing even though the interviewee passed several years ago.

Other situations have been more difficult to handle, such as when the historical record has been revised (perhaps unknowingly) by the surviving members of the family. I am aware of two occasions in which that happened, and they presented difficult dilemmas. In both cases, I ultimately chose the route of non-disclosure, though it meant failing to recount the complete story as evidenced by examination of the institution’s period faculty minutes.

Neither the surviving spouse, in one instance, nor the surviving daughter, in the other, told of their family member’s dismissal from Cornell, which in both cases was for academic reasons. One man failed at Cornell, then proceeded to another veterinary college a year later (following a brief stint in the military) and successfully completed the veterinary curriculum at that institution. The other man was alleged by family members to have left Cornell because of financial hardship, but in fact had been dismissed for academic reasons. He later returned to Cornell and successfully completed his DVM degree.

During a few occasions, highly personal information was disclosed in the course of the interview. Sometimes this was unintentional, such as information relating to a sexual relationship or a description of a wayward member of the family, and the interviewee later requested that I not share it (and I have not).

In the first installment of summaries of the oral interviews in Enduring Veterinary Legacy,2 I shared the abstract of the interview with Dr. Tevis Goldhaft, who had entered Cornell in 1931 as one of 17 Jewish students in this class. To thwart the establishment of a new veterinary college on Long Island, Cornell increased its enrollment of Jewish students to approximately 20% throughout the 1930s. Many of these students were from urban areas, especially New York City and the surrounding areas, and did not have extensive farm backgrounds.

Dr. Harry J. Fallon, 1938, Graduation Photo

(© New York State Veterinary College, Cornell University)

In addition to Dr. Goldhaft, I interviewed two of these veterinarians who also graduated in the 1930s, and the surviving spouses of two others. Dr. Harry Fallon and Dr. Henry Grossman graduated in 1938.

Fallon began his educational career under his given name, Henry Feldman, but changed his surname thinking it was too “Jewish-sounding”. He was concerned it might limit his opportunities for employment. As it turned out, his Jewish heritage was the strongest factor in his getting an exceptional starting job in a good practice.

The owners of a practice in Akron, Ohio, included a veterinarian of the Quaker faith who had graduated from the Ohio State University, and a Catholic man from Cornell. According to Dr. Fallon, the two could never resolve between themselves whether to hire entry-level associates who were either Quaker or Catholic, and so they ended the stalemate by agreeing to hire Jewish graduates. They continued this practice for several years, usually recruiting the top academic Jewish student from Cornell every two years, and then sending them on to start their own practices.

In the spring of 1938, the offer went to a student who had an identical twin in the same class. But the young man (and, in turn, his brother) declined, as they had decided to work together and open a practice in the New York City area. The offer next fell to Fallon who excitedly accepted the invitation. It proved to be an outstanding job with great mentors, and he eventually moving to West Virginia where he became a prominent veterinarian, even writing articles while in clinical practice. He rose to become president of the state’s Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Henry E. Grossman, 1938, Graduation Photo

(© New York State Veterinary College, Cornell University)

Dr. Henry Grossman also graduated in 1938. Though I had known him as a prominent member of the New York City veterinary community and former president of the state’s Veterinary Medical Society, he had passed in 2000 and my interview was with his wife and one of his daughters. The Grossman story describes what it was like to develop a veterinary practice from its beginning, by initially transforming a few rooms in their mother’s home in Brooklyn, then moving the practice into a rented corner building and hanging a neon sign in the shape of a Scottie dog, made popular because of President Roosevelt’s dog named Fala. Dr. Grossman’s practice was very successful, and he maintained it for 60 years until health problems forced his retirement.

Dr. Isidor I. Sprecker, 1939, Graduation Photo

(© New York State Veterinary College, Cornell University)

Eight members of the graduating class of 1939 were also Jewish. I knew Dr. Isidor Sprecker (formerly Sprecher) very well as he was a frequent visitor to Cornell and, with his wife, had become a major benefactor to the college. The veterinary library and also the comparative cancer program bear the Sprecher3 name in recognition of their many contributions.

I never conducted a recorded interview with Dr. Sprecker during this lifetime, but Mrs. Sylvia Sprecker granted an interview at her Delray Beach home in 2008. She described her husband’s experiences as an officer in the Army Veterinary Corps during World War II. He was stationed in the British West Indies where he was the chief food inspector but also took care of the dogs and other pets of the officers on the base. She and Isidor were married in July 1945 with, in Mrs. Sprecker’s words, “a honeymoon on Barbados, courtesy of Uncle Sam.”

Dr. Sprecker had a strong passion for education and a deep admiration for Ezra Cornell, the institution’s co-founder and first benefactor. Shortly after presenting a speech to alumni in January 2004 honoring the birthday of Mr. Cornell, I received a telephone call informing me that Isidor had just died. I felt a warm rush go through my body as I realized how these two men of such different backgrounds had been so similar in their core values of learning and giving.

Dr. Robert Ferber, 1939, Graduation Photo

(© New York State Veterinary College, Cornell University)

My 2008 visit with Dr. Robert Ferber in Syosset on Long Island remains one of my favorites. Ferber was a warm and robust gentleman, and was so well-prepared for the interview that I hardly had to prompt him as he progressed into a long, interesting and articulate description of his life, starting from childhood through his days at Cornell.

The child of Russian immigrants, Ferber was raised in Brooklyn and Queens. He applied to Cornell with an undergraduate degree (rare at that time when the pre-veterinary requirements were for one year of college education) but was denied admission and went to Michigan State University and was accepted as a transfer student after his first year. Though he had been bitterly disappointed not to have been accepted initially at Cornell despite his stellar academic record, Ferber chose to speak about the positive aspects of his student life, and the many students of all backgrounds who would became lifelong friends and colleagues.

Ferber started a small animal practice in Bayside, New York, in a period when there were only four established practices in the area. He became the patriarch of a family of veterinarians that would eventually include not only his younger brother, but his son and grandson. He was one of the longest surviving members of the Class of 1939, passing last December (2013), nine months before his 100th birthday.

Veterinary medicine in the pre World War II era was largely defined by agricultural priorities and admission of students from rural areas. The period stories of Jewish veterinarians who were the children of Russian and East European immigrants coming from an urban background provides what you might first imagine to be a grating juxtaposition of religious, cultural and professional differences.

Rather than differences, however, these interviews consistently tell of how students from widely different backgrounds formed a common bond during the harsh Depression years. Along with veterinarians with similar values from across the country, these men and an occasional woman, shaped the growth and development of veterinary medicine in ways that set the stage for the next half century.

Dr. Smith welcomes comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

---

1 Smith, Donald F. Monuments to Veterinary Medicine. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, June 23rd, 2014.
2 Smith, Donald F. An Enduring Veterinary Legacy, Bringing History to Life.
3 In the named tributes to Dr. and Mrs. Sprecker, the former spelling (Sprecher) is used.

The Critical Role of Mentors for Veterinary Students

Donald F. Smith (Cornell University)

and Julie Kumble (Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts)

May 9, 2014

Mentoring is widely considered to be an essential ingredient in the success and future leadership of students. Nearly all of the women deans of veterinary colleges with whom we’ve spoken point to the absolute influence that mentors had on their trajectories.1 The belief, confidence and support of their mentors fostered for these women a sense of belief and confidence in them.

We took their lessons to heart and asked each of the 35 students in our course, “Women’s Leadership in Veterinary Medicine,”2 to identify a potential mentor and to interview her (or him) as a means to establish a first-time connection, or to further cultivate an already existing relationship.

Nurturing is a close cousin of mentoring, and some of us are fortunate enough to find people in our academic years who offer a good dose of each. New York Times Op Ed columnist, Charles Blow, defines the concept of nurturing as it relates to his professors and how pivotal they were in his college years.3 He also cites a new study that points to the fact that students report feeling like they’ve had mentoring or nurturing far too infrequently.4

While we believe that mentors within veterinary college are important to career development, we also stressed to our students the critical importance of reaching beyond the academy. However, there was a time in veterinary educational circles that mentoring was considered the exclusive provenance of veterinary college faculty. In the early days of the profession, one prominent academic, Dean Leonard Pearson5 who chaired the AVMA’s Committee on Intelligence and Education, insisted that just as “water runs downstream from its source … No profession can rise higher than the schools in which its members are trained, as these are the sources of the special knowledge…” Reporting on behalf of his committee in 1907, Pearson inferred that knowledge emanates from the veterinary colleges and that practitioners in the field would always be less informed than their teachers and only by having well-educated faculty could veterinarians ever be expected to be able to practice effectively.6

By the 1930s (if not before), that concept had been turned on its head and veterinarians outside of the universities were developing some of the major advances in clinical medicine and feeding them back into the universities.7 More recently, and especially since the development of the clinical specialty boards in the last half century, some of the most progressive practitioners and scholars can be found in private practice, research institutes, governmental agencies and nonprofits, as well as in academia.

We instructed the students in our course to reach outside the university to find potential mentors for their class assignment―because they have regular access to faculty here at Cornell, we insisted that they broaden their network. Some took a comfortable, but still valuable, route of interviewing veterinarians who had been instrumental earlier in their career, as they developed their credentials for applying to college. Others were venturesome, contacting people whom they had only heard about, or whom they identified through the AVMA member data base (a marvelous resource, by the way).

Aziza Glass, who is interested in a career in biomedical science, tracked down and interviewed four-time space traveler, Dr. Richard Linnehan, who told her that veterinary schools need to find ways to move beyond their classical mindset to include One Health as a crucial part of veterinary theory, education and practice sets.8

Because of her interview with Dr. Karen Bradley, founder of Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative, Jordan Daniels was energized at the increasingly active role that dynamic and courageous practitioners can play in transforming organized veterinary medicine and making it more responsive in the 21st century. She took that verve and, together with several other students in the course, launched the first student chapter of the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative.

Yet another student interviewed Dr. Valerie Ragan, director of the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine. Another interviewed a women who is one of the most creative and skilled deans in the country.

These are not just insightful and helpful interviews, but they represent introductions to some of the truly great leaders of our time with the potential for these people (both women and men) to affect the careers of students in a meaningful and sustaining manner.

We agree with Mr. Blow that mentors are important and they are often available in the students’ college environment. But as educators of future professionals we must insist that more of our educational offerings tie directly to experts and leaders outside the academy. To be competitive in today’s veterinary environment, our students should develop strategic networks and mentoring relationships that include the breadth of the profession.

---

1 Smith, Donald F and Julie Kumble. Mentoring as a Career Factor: Six US Women Deans Reflect. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine.Sept 12, 2013.
2 Smith, Donald F and Julie Kumble. Women’s Leadership in Veterinary Medicine: A Course for Veterinary Students. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine. April 2, 2014.
3 Blow, Charles M. In College, Nurturing Matters. New York Times, May 7, 2014.
4 Ray, Julie and Stephanie Kafka. Life in College Matters for Life After College. Gallup Economy, May 6, 2014.
5 Leonard Pearson VMD was the third dean of veterinary medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (1897-1909).
6 Pearson, Leonard, Report of the Committee on Intelligence and Education. Proceedings of the American Veterinary Medical Association 1907. (Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott Company), 1908.101-102.
7 Smith, Donald F. 150th Anniversary of Veterinary Education and the Veterinary Profession in the United States. J Vet Med Educ 37(4) 2010, 322-323.
8 Glass, Aziza. A Student Interviews a Veterinary Astronaut. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine. April 28, 2014.

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

Top

A Male Veterinary Student Reflects on a Course in Women's Leadership

Guest Author: Drew Enders, Cornell University, Class of 2015
Posted April 30, 2014

Editor’s Note:: Drew Enders is one of three male students who joined 32 female colleagues in a one-day symposium on Women’s Leadership in Veterinary Medicine held at Cornell University on March 1, 2014.1 A requirement of the course was to interview a woman veterinarian regarding her experiences in some aspect of the profession. Drew’s takeaways from the course and his summary of the interview with Dr. Jessica Platz of Colonial Veterinary Hospital in Ithaca, NY are reported in this story.

Donald F. Smith

I’ve spent the majority of my life, and most importantly the last three years, in a classroom. It was no different on the first Saturday of March when I walked into Cornell’s first symposium on women’s leadership in veterinary medicine. I was one of only three males in attendance – daunting odds to anyone who hasn’t gone to veterinary school in the last two decades. Admittedly, I was a little wary at first, not because of my minority group status, but that as a male, I wouldn’t get much out of a women’s leadership course or that my opinion on the subject would be an affront to the group of female pioneers around me.

To my surprise and delight, that weekend discussion was completely worthwhile and I feel like my eyes were opened to an omnipresent issue that I was ignorant to beforehand. Throughout the one-day interactive seminar we focused on exploring the role of women and their unequal representation in veterinary leadership. Some of the major themes of the day included discrimination, career ambitions, balancing work with family, applying for and negotiating for associate positions in clinical practice, and mentorship.

 

Drew Enders, DVM Class of 2015, participates in a mentoring exercise

with three female colleagues (two from his class and one from the Class of 2016) at the course,

Women’s Leadership in Veterinary Medicine.

(Photo by the author, 2014)

The discussion was so fruitful that it prompted me to interview a close friend about her experiences as a young veterinarian. Dr. Platz graduated from Mississippi State University where she earned both the MS and DVM degrees. Since then she has become a certified veterinary acupuncturist, completed a rotating small animal internship, and now works as an associate in a small animal hospital. I chose to interview Dr. Platz because she has accomplished so much in the three short years that I have known her. Furthermore, I value her opinion and have been grateful for the helpful advice she has shared with me over the course of our friendship. Our interview was stimulating, free flowing, and intriguing.

I was, and continue to be, baffled by the dichotomy between the overwhelming majority of women who make up veterinary classes and their severe underrepresentation in higher positions. Dr. Platz told me that she is not surprised by the inequality,2

Men naturally lean towards more power positions in their early careers; whereas, women both want to work and have a family. I don’t see that changing. The onus is on women to come up with ways to get more involved in leadership positions and find a better balance between work and family.

I asked her if she thought it was harder for women to advance themselves in veterinary medicine or the workforce in general. “Yes”, she said, “child-bearing is the crux women bear and it’s something we can’t control, but that issue isn’t as big an impediment as it once was.”

Stereotypical gender roles with regards to child-care responsibilities are no longer as strong as they were in the past. More women report the desire to have fulfilling careers, while more men are expressing their desire to become more involved in family life and becoming stay-at-home dads.3 Although veterinary medicine may lag behind in this trend, I believe female veterinarians are the epitome of driven, career-seeking women and they need to work to create more of a gender balance for child-care responsibilities in the family.

With regards to leadership roles, Dr. Platz reiterated my own feelings by saying more people in power positions are older and that the older men in power now came from a generation where men made up the majority of veterinary professionals. I believe with time, as newer, younger generations predominately composed of women, begin to take on those positions, a shift will occur in the leadership.

Despite the naturally-occurring shift, the current situation begs us to question, “Why wait?” Strong, independent, brilliant women currently make up the majority of this profession and must make a stand so our leadership reflects their representation.

It’s difficult to control discrimination on all levels, but in a professional setting it shouldn’t be tolerated. During the symposium, an alarming number of my peers relayed stories of experience with male private practice owners who admitted to being hesitant to hire new female graduates because of their fear they would be starting a family soon. These stories struck a cord with me. If the women’s leadership initiative is to succeed, this level of duality, the male and female agenda, in the profession can no longer be tolerated. New graduates are on the precipice of long, rewarding careers after having spent almost two decades in school. They should not have to choose between starting a family and having a career.

I asked Dr. Platz what she would like to see change for women in veterinary medicine. She said she would like to see practices begin to offer paid maternity leave, citing the progressive thinking of other countries that offer both paid maternity and paternity leave. Sadly, at this time she couldn’t name a practice that did offer it. I followed up by asking if she thought most women would feel comfortable bringing up the idea of starting a family during a job interview and Dr. Platz did not think they would. It’s ironic that the idea of starting a family has become taboo in a profession predominantly composed of women.

I find it shameful that women are faced with the dilemma of hiding their desire to start a family from a potential employer out of fear they won’t be hired. I believe women need to defend their self worth and assert their convictions. If they feel like they need to interview for a job under a shroud of deception, rather than with honest open dialogue, then perhaps they need to reevaluate if that practice is truly the place they want to work. At the same time, male veterinarians need to support their female colleagues; excellent qualifications should be the only requirement to fill a position. The workforce at most practices, both veterinarians and veterinary technicians, is overwhelmingly made up of women. Both employer and employees need to be able to discuss family openly so workforce adjustments can be made for the benefit of the entire practice.

At the symposium, we also discussed strategies to improve negotiating skills that included exploring dual MBA programs or devoting clinical externship time to pursuing business externships.

Personally, I can’t imagine the success of the women’s leadership initiative without both genders working together to improve the profession. I had never explored the subject of women’s leadership prior to the symposium and decided to attend with the hope of taking away something new. I had no idea how fascinating the intricacies of the women’s leadership initiative is or that I would walk away from that day with lingering thoughts.

I felt immense pride not only for myself, but also for my male peers who also decided to come in on a weekend and show support for the advancement of women’s leadership. It’s critical that male veterinarians recognize the need to support their female counterparts to ensure the continued betterment of the profession. Since the symposium, I have promoted the ideas of the women’s leadership movement with my peers on my clinical rotations. So many of my colleagues (male and female) are unaware of the initiative and I enjoy remaining connected to the movement by serving as liaison between the symposium and the hospital. I am already looking forward to next year’s gathering and hope my distribution of information will prompt more of my colleagues to participate.

 

1 Smith, Donald F and Julie Kumble. Women’s Leadership in Veterinary Medicine: A Course for Veterinary Students. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine. April 2, 2014.
2 Platz, Jessica, MS, DVM (Colonial Veterinary Hospital, Ithaca, NY). Interview with Drew Enders (Cornell University DVM student) conducted in person March 8, 2014, and April 18, 2014.
3 Ludden, Jennifer. Stay-At-Home Dads, Breadwinner Moms And Making It All Work. National Public Radio, May 15, 2013.

Dr. Smith welcomes comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

This story is also posted at www.veritasdvmblog.com

Women's Leadership for Veterinary Medicine: A Course for Veterinary Students

Co-author: Julie Kumble

On the one hand, it was just another elective course proposal. On the other hand, it could also be described as an experiment in teaching and learning within the context of one of the most vexing issues in veterinary medicine, the continuing gap in women’s leadership.

So, we asked the question:

Would veterinary students at Cornell University

be interested in a course in women’s leadership?

If so, it would be the first of its kind, anywhere.

Since the formation of the Women’s Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative (WVLDI) last fall, we have felt that we needed to test the waters to see if there would be interest in a student symposium directed specifically at women’s leadership. An email was sent to all Cornell students on December 23^rd asking them if they would be interested in devoting a weekend day in March to the topic.  

Within a few hours, half a dozen students had sent emails requesting to be enrolled and justifying why they wanted to take the course. Responses continued to come in over the break and well before the January 5^th deadline we had reached the course limit of 25 students. We subsequently increased the limit, enrolling 35 students, including three men, to participate in the six-hour symposium on March 1^st.  

Student Course in Women’s Leadership, Cornell University

Screenshot of the Title Slide for the Opening Presentation

(Prezi presentation designed and prepared by David Seader ‘16, who also participated in the symposium.)

Being a Saturday morning, we opened with a continental breakfast. To facilitate introductions, the morning session began with a dozen students sharing their rationale for taking the course.

We then gave a 90-minute presentation about women’s leadership, drawing heavily upon our research in the four areas of organized veterinary medicine, clinical practice, industry, and academia. Our goals were to raise the awareness about the gap in women’s leadership, promote understanding of the need to have women in leadership positions, and share best practices from both within and outside veterinary medicine.

Within the domain of organized veterinary medicine, we presented data on women in leadership positions at the national level (American Veterinary Medical Association, AVMA) and the local and state levels, with emphasis on states like Iowa which have instituted numerous policy changes to promote leadership of women in particular and younger veterinarians in general.

Considering clinical practice, we shared information from the 2013 National ResearchCouncil study that documented significantly lower return on educational investment for associates compared to owners. This topic would be the focus of the noon panel which featured three practice owners. We also presented data from various sources showing lower levels of compensation for women, beginning with starting salaries and continuing throughout their careers.

For the discussion of industry, data were drawn from Fortune 500 companies, to major veterinary companies. Emphasis was on the need for a critical mass of women (generally viewed as 30%) to be present at the top leadership of companies in order for the culture of that company to reflect good business practices for men and women alike, as well as to enhance profits and achieve better standing in their respective industries. We also posited that it was important for transparency of leadership at the top and noted that this deficit in some private companies where there is no legal requirement for board members to be identified publicly.

Finally, we discussed academia where, despite over three decades of affirmative action policies, we still have only six women deans in the US, a mere 20% in a domain that one would expect to be leading the way. Furthermore, the last five dean appointments have all been males. We used academia as a prime example of the “leaky pipeline” where the percentage of women tends to decrease as appointments are made into more senior positions.

Having considered the current state in these domains, we turned our attention to identifying and explaining some of the barriers to women’s leadership drawn from substantive research in the field. We talked about:

1. ·         systemic barriers, such as the lack of term limits in many positions in organized veterinary medicine;
2. ·         cultural barriers, such as differences in women’s personal and professional priorities, and gender stereotypes;
3. ·         psychological barriers, the lack of self-promotion and the so-called “perfection complex” and self-assessment traits of women compared to men;
4. ·         economic barriers, showing disparity in salaries as well as differences in negotiation styles between men and women, and promoting the concept of paid family leave policies.

Student Course in Women’s Leadership, Cornell University

Screen shot of the Introduction to the Subtitle, “Overcoming the Barriers”

(Prezi Presentation by designed and prepared by David Seader ‘16, student participant)

After presenting data on the current state of the profession and then identifying barriers for women’s leadership, we tapped the bank of our research and presented specific examples of how women have overcome obstacles.  For organized veterinary medicine, we drew heavily upon the experience in Iowa mentioned above. We then focused at some length on mentors and their impact on one’s career, using examples from organized veterinary medicine (Dr.Eva Evans) and academia (Deans Sheila Allen and Deborah Kochevar).

Relative to practice ownership, we talked about women, including the guest presenters who each owned their practices, to others who overcame some of the logistical barriers of single ownership by joining with others (often women) to co-own or multi-own practices. 

We highlighted industry-based strategies, such as programs at Zoetis and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which have been successful in developing women leaders.  Again, we used specific examples from our interviews with women leaders in industry, such as Dr. Christine Jenkins (Zoetis).

The last segment of our presentation, entitled, “Bridging the Leadership Gap,” was intended to provide a greater degree of clarity for how the percentage of women leaders can be increased in the next few years. We gave specific examples, such as how some gender stereotypes and cultural biases do, in fact, create a climate where fewer women either run for elected office, or are appointed into leadership positions. Men, we argued, need to be aware of these issues as much as women if we are going to be able to see a truly balanced profession that will benefit all veterinarians.

We counseled female students to challenge their “perfection complex,” giving examples of how women can confidently perform admirably in leadership positions (just like men) even if they don’t have the entire skill set in place at the onset. We encouraged self-nomination for office and ignoring the fear of not getting a position.

To complete the presentation, we focused on developing leadership competencies. This included taking formal training programs to enhance leadership competencies such as financial and management acumen, negotiation and public speaking skills, and building a strong mentoring support system.

Student Course in Women’s Leadership, Cornell University

Guest presenters at front are Drs. Linda Tintle (speaking), Susan Wylegala and Andrea Dennis-LaVigne

(Photo by the author, 2014)

During the working lunch, the three invited veterinarians formed a panel, describing their experiences in private practice and business, and in organized veterinary medicine at the state level. They gave substantive presentations and were amazingly upbeat.  “You have a veterinary degree and you can do anything,” was the recurring theme, and they provided example after example based upon their real-world experiences to prove their point. The panelists were Dr. Linda Tintle, owner of Wurtsboro Veterinary Clinic and past president of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society (NYSVMS), Dr. Susan Wylegala, owner of Cheektowaga Veterinary Hospital and Executive Board member of the NYSVMS, and Dr. Andrea Dennis- LaVigne, owner of the Bloomfield Animal Hospital and President-Elect of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association.

This one-hour segment generated questions on a wide range of topics from how to do clinical research while running a practice, to asking if the panelists would be willing to open their books to students interested in knowing more about running a business. The session energized and, at times, electrified the students. Two-thirds of them later reported it as the most informative and helpful segment of the day.

Student Course in Women’s Leadership, Cornell University

Student group working on developing a plan for mentoring

(Photo by the author, 2014)

The third segment of the course returned to the issue of “essential skills” in becoming an effective leader, and the steps to reach that goal. We focused primarily on networking, mentoring, and role models. This took the form of a working session where the small groups of students, assisted by the guest presenters, worked to articulate goals and expectations for developing an individualized mentoring program.

The capstone of the afternoon was completion of an exercise in which each student wrote down her or his specific goals, and the time frame for achieving them. They were written on specially-made bookmarks identifying the course name and date, and then the bookmarks were inserted inside a copy of Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, which was given to each of the students and guest presenters at the close of the day.

As the students mingled and talked to the guest presenters and amongst themselves afterwards, they began to plan the development of a Student Chapter of the Women's Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative. As we write this story less than a month later, the Cornell student chapter is not only about to become reality, but chapters are is also about to be established at two or three other colleges. The excitement and enthusiasm are palpable.

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

I want to be a Veterinarian: History of Veterinary Medicine 1940-1970.

By Donald F. Smith, Cornell University

Posted May 5, 2011



This historical blog is in recognition of the 150th anniversary 
of the American Veterinary Medical Association (1863-2013).

By 1940, only ten veterinary colleges in the United States remained open. Twenty others had closed since 1900, including those at Harvard, New York University, and George Washington University.

World War II created a huge need for veterinarians to serve in food inspection domestically and overseas, for development of vaccines anticipated in enemy attacks, and to accompany pack mules in combat with Japanese forces on the rugged Burma trail.

Male Studenta in Cornell's Veterinary Classes of 1943, 1944 and 1945 were members of the Army Specialized Training Progam.  Courtesy of Cornell University.

Veterinarians were in such short supply that colleges operated year-round. Dr. Morris Povar remembers the experience: Going to veterinary school during the summer was a hideous experience. The room must have been 90 degrees; no air.

After the war, hundreds of thousands of battle-weary veterans returned home and many wanted to become veterinarians, but only a handful of states had programs to educate DVMs. In Minnesota, it was the insistence of veterans with strong political ties who forced the legislature to establish a new veterinary program. In all, seven new veterinary colleges opened between 1944-48.

Glen Nelson was in the inaugural class at Minnesota. Most of us were veterans. We had a B17 pilot who was shot flying over France, a B29 pilot who flew over Nagasaki the day after THE bomb. I was a tank officer under Patten in North Africa. We had a POW, and another who was shot up pretty badly on Saipan. Going to the student center was like sitting around the American Legion Club.

Prior to 1945, only about 70 African-Americans had ever received DVM degrees, mostly from northern univerities like Iowa State, Kansas State and Cornell. But that all changed when Frederick Douglass Patterson, DVM, PhD became the third president of Tuskegee Institute and not only founded a veterinary college that continues to this day, but also was the principal force in establishing the United Negro College Fund.

Women, though sporadically admitted to veterinary colleges since 1910, were vastly underrepresented in the post war years when so many men squeezed them out of the few slots previously available.

Even through the 1960s, women were evaluated differently than men. Linda Reeve Peddie sat through her grueling interview at Cornell in 1961, They asked me if I cooked, if I sewed, if I danced. Did I date?  And then the question, ‘If you were to marry someone who had a vocation out in the desert somewhere and there weren’t any animals, just what would you do with this degree?’ I did not think there was a prayer that I would be accepted.

Fulfilling the desire to become a veterinarian is the dominant theme of my second article in a four-part series on veterinary education in the United States (1940-70). It is published in the Spring 2011 issue of the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, Volume 38 (1), pages 84-99, and should be available in veterinary or medical libraries, or online services provided by these libraries.

For those how do not have access to the article and would like a copy, please contact me at the following e-mail address.

Comments are welcome at dfs6@cornell.edu

Water For Elephants Trumpets Cornell

Posted by Donald F. Smith, Cornell University

April 26, 2011

A half century ago, Norman Rockwell painted an image of a young veterinarian examining a little boy’s dog. Partly obscured in the background is a Cornell University diploma. The year, 1963, was the centennial of the American Veterinary Medical Association. On the threshold of the AVMA’s 150^th anniversary, another veterinary image has emerged in American pop culture and, once again, Cornell University is featured.



Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Photo provided by Cornell.

 The movie, Water for Elephants, depicts a 1931 Cornell veterinary student who runs away during his final exams because of a family tragedy. Jacob Jankowski hops a circus train and claims to be a veterinarian. His prime charge was an Asian elephant named Rosie.

The movie follows Sara Gruen’s novel by the same title, including about 20 direct references to Cornell University and the Ivy League. For Cornellians everywhere―and especially for the 4,000 DVMs scattered across the country and around the world―there is great pride in seeing our college depicted on the big screen.

But how accurate is that depiction?  The following questions should test your knowledge of veterinary medicine at Cornell during the Depression. (Answers follow)

1.   Jacob Jankowski was forced to leave Cornell because his father (also a veterinarian) had mortgaged the family business to pay for his son’s tuition. How much was tuition during the Depression?

2.   How many women were in Jacob’s class? The movie highlights one who sits next to Jacob during his final examination, and appears to depict at least one other. In the novel, author Sara Gruen says there were four.

3.   A picture was seen for a fleeting second on the wall of the examination room when Jacob was leaving the room to learn of his parents’ death?  Was it the portrait of university founder Ezra Cornell or President Herbert Hoover?

4.   Did it take six years to become a veterinarian?

5.   Is the movie correct in describing the veterinary degree as Doctor of Veterinary Science?

6.   When did Cornell become part of the Ivy League?

7.   Would Jacob have lived with his parents while attending college?

Answers:

1.   Because of the land grant agreement, there was no tuition for New York State students until the 1960s. This challenges the movie’s central premise that the Jankowski family lost everything because of tuition payments?

2.   Though Cornell’s first woman veterinarian graduated in 1910, most classes in the next 30 years -- including Jacob's class -- had none. The Class of 1940 was the first to have four women.

3.   Though not an exact depiction, it appears to be an image of the veterinary college’s first professor and dean (principal), James Law.

4.   It did not: four years after high school was the prescribed length at that time. The youngest member of the Class of 1931 was the recently deceased Dr. Lawrence Waitz. He entered Cornell at age 16 and graduated at 20.

5.   Except for the period before 1896 when the degree was Bachelor of Veterinary Science (in the British tradition), the Cornell veterinary degree has always been Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

6.   The Ivy League was not established until 1954.

7.   Almost certainly not. Most students were poor, living in modest single rooms near campus.

Enjoy the movie!

Dr. Smith welcomes comments at dfs6@cornell.edu