Veterinary Medicine Commencement set for Ceremony May 5
Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will award 113 professional DVM degrees during the college’s 108th commencement on Tuesday, May 5. The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. in Auburn Arena.
In addition, 12 Masters of Science in Biomedical Science (thesis and non-thesis) will be conferred and six candidates will be awarded the Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Science.
The 113-member DVM class includes 40 students from Alabama, and 34 students from the Commonwealth of Kentucky and two from West Virginia under a cooperating agreement with each state through the Southern Regional Education Board. The remaining 37 at-large students hail from New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, California, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, Texas and Minnesota.
The college will also bestow one degree posthumously, to the late Sarah Sprague Roberts.
The class is comprised of 90 women and 23 men. During the ceremony, 10 students will have their parent or grandparent, who is a veterinarian, complete their hooding.
The commencement address will be given by Dr. Dan Givens, associate dean for Academic Affairs at Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. John Hammons, current president of the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association, will administer the Veterinarian’s Oath.
Three alumni who have distinguished themselves professionally will be recognized as the 2015 Wilford S. Bailey Distinguished Alumni. They are: Dr. Taylor Bennett, retired director of the Biological Resource Library at the University of Illinois; Dr. Ron Prestage, Camden, S.C., an accomplished businessman, veterinarian and industry professional; and Dr. Loyce Turner, who served 24-years in the Georgia state Legislature, from Valdosta, Ga.
The prestigious award is the highest honor given to an alumnus of the College of Veterinary Medicine and is named to honor the late Wilford S. Bailey, who held a 50-year continuous faculty appointment at Auburn, serving in positions ranging from instructor to University President. A 1942 graduate of the college, Bailey was the first recipient of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Following his death in 2000, it was named in Dr. Bailey’s memory. The Wilford and Kate Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital opened in 2014.
To date, the College of Veterinary Medicine has awarded 6,541 degrees and 379 Master’s degrees, 33 Master’s-Non-Thesis, and 151 PhD degrees.