AAVMC hires administrator for top seat

Washington-A seasoned bovine practitioner and recent University of Prince Edward Island president now heads the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) - a group plagued by a year of fraud, theft and administrative abandonment.

Dr. Lawrence Heider spent decades in academia and three years heading a consulting firm before joining AAVMC as its executive director.

Dr. Lawrence E. Heider, employed on a three-year renewable contract, serves as the organization's third executive director in two years.

A DVM with 33 years in academia, Heider describes himself as a bit of a conservative, refusing to release many details of his life, including his age. He also won't comment on AAVSB's recent setbacks, including its well-publicized bout with embezzlement.

Bookkeeper cons AAVMC

Last summer, the group's accountant fled after charging thousands on organization credit cards and stealing from the AAVSB's bank account. Although the employee was later caught and imprisoned, long-time director Dr. Curt Mann, who was never implicated, promptly resigned.

As the group reorganized, Dr. Lester Crawford, who served as executive director prior to Mann's appointment, reassumed the post on a part-time basis. But a short time later, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials tapped Crawford, a respected pharmacologist and food animal veterinarian, to serve as deputy commissioner, making him the agency's second-in-command.

AAVMC has been void of leadership since December.

Heider's ambitions

"So far, the position's been challenging," says Heider, who's spent the summer reorganizing. "I must say, there is an opportunity to do some things here differently."

The 1964 Ohio State University veterinary graduate who started out practicing on dairy farms is no stranger to leadership roles. While in academia, he committed years of research to mastitis and worm control, bovine somatotropin and Johne's disease. Most recently, he founded Lawrence E. Heider and Associates, Inc., a consulting firm on post-secondary education and economic development in Canada.

While Heider refuses to elaborate on revamping AAVMC, he promises to apply a strong work ethic, providing good leadership and support to the group's membership, which consists of U.S. and Canadian veterinary colleges.

"Our main purpose is to advance veterinary medicine," Heider says. "I want to make sure AAVMC plays a big part in that."