On May 4, the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) received John B King, Jr., chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY). King is on a tour of all 64 SUNY campuses, four of which are in Cornell University, including CVM.  

King started his visit with a tour of the small and large animal clinics. He was accompanied by several members of the College’s leadership, including Lorin Warnick, D.V.M., Ph.D. ’94, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. François Elvinger, associate dean for diagnostic operations, and executive director of the Animal Health Diagnostic Center, and Dr. Meg Thompson, director of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, and associate dean for hospital operations. Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis also joined the tour.

“It was an honor to have chancellor King visit, and to get the chance to introduce him to some of the people and programs that contribute to the success of the college. We value our relationship with other SUNY institutions and look forward to continuing to develop collaborations in research and education,” said Warnick.

King had the opportunity to observe students treating cows and goats, and meet Felicia the cockatoo, a resident of the Exotic Pets Service at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals for almost 20 years. “I met some incredible students working with farm animals, dogs, reptiles, and more,” King wrote on Twitter.

The college has a track record of rich collaboration with other SUNY schools. The Quality Milk Production Service collaborates with SUNY colleges around the state to offer testing services to dairies in New York State. Students from other SUNY colleges regularly engage in internships with the Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology and Bacteriology services, pharmacy students and residents from SUNY Binghamton can complete rotations in the CVM’s veterinary pharmacy, and CVM’s hospitals offer a preceptorship program for veterinary technicians from other SUNY schools. Finally, research collaboration between the CVM and other SUNY colleges (Binghamton University’s and SUNY Update Medical Center) led to promising discovery on Lyme disease testing and with breast cancer screening.

 King followed his tour of the college with a visit to the three other SUNY campuses at Cornell and met with Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff and Cornell President Martha E. Pollack. He finished his visit sharing a lunch with students who received the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.

Written by Elodie Smith