Phi Zeta Epsilon Chapter to Host Research Emphasis Day Nov. 8
The Phi Zeta Honor Society’s Epsilon Chapter at the College of Veterinary Medicine will hold Research Emphasis Day on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
The event is an annual celebration of veterinary and non-veterinary research and includes a full day of poster and platform presentations given by the faculty, staff, and students, a keynote speaker presentation, and reception for inductees and members of the Phi Zeta society.
Phi Zeta Research Day schedule.
This year’s keynote speaker will be Dr. Cyril G. Gay ‘85, senior national program leader, Animal Production and Protection with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service. Dr. Gay will speak at 4 p.m. in Overton Auditorium in the Veterinary Education Center on “Animal Health Research at the Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.”
Dr. Gay obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a DVM from Auburn, as well as a Ph.D. in Microbiology from The George Washington University. Dr. Gay has worked in the animal health research field for more than 25 years holding several positions of increasing responsibility in the federal government and the pharmaceutical industry.
The day will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a welcome and opening statement, followed by 10-minute presentations by a number of graduate students and residents.
At noon, poster presentations will be held in the VEC lobby, followed by afternoon presentations by veterinary students, and then presentations by veterinary medicine faculty Drs. Amanda Taylor and Tekla Lee-Fowler.
The induction ceremony and awards for Phi Zeta will begin at 5 p.m., followed by a reception.
Members of the Epsilon Chapter are selected from the top 10 percent of third-year veterinary students and the top 25 percent of fourth-year veterinary students, based on academic standing. Once these criteria are met, students must be nominated by a current member of Phi Zeta and voted on by the chapter. Members from other chapters of Phi Zeta who wish to join the Epsilon Chapter may do so as long as they pay their dues, without the need to be nominated again.
The Phi Zeta Honors Society’s purpose is to stand for constant advancement in the field of the veterinary profession, higher educational requirements and high scholarship by inducting and promoting the work of the best students and scientists in the field. The society was established at the New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University in 1925. The society became the first and only honors society for veterinary medicine in the United States. Auburn’s Epsilon Chapter, the fifth recognized chapter, was established in 1948 and has continued to prosper. The name Phi Zeta is derived from the Greek word, ‘Philozoi,’ which means, ‘love for animals.’