Mizzou dean steps down, accepts post at St. Georges in Caribbean

OlsonNeil C. Olson, DVM, PhD, has announced he is leaving his position as dean of the University of Missouri's (MU) College of Veterinary Medicine to take over as dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at St. George's University (SGU) in St. George's, Grenada, according to press releases from both universities. Olson will take over on August 15 from St. George's current dean, Timothy Ogilvie, MSc, LLD, DACVIM, who held the position for three years and is retiring.

Olson will oversee the School of Veterinary Medicine's academic units, centers and initiatives, while providing leadership for the planning, development, implementation, assessment, and improvement of all of the school's programs, policies and infrastructure, the SGU release states. In addition, he will lead more than 100 faculty and staff at the university and will also represent the university among the 48 other veterinary schools accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.

"I am honored to continue the great work that my predecessor, Dr. Ogilvie, has already laid out," Olson says in the release. "I hope to keep building upon our numerous partnerships with other institutions across the world to recruit and train the best veterinarians. I'm also excited to continue developing our curriculum so that veterinary students can take advantage of the unique global environment that Grenada has to offer."

Olson was dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri for 10 years, and the MU release notes that during that time he oversaw several notable achievements, including:

• establishing the Veterinary Health Center in Wentzville, Missouri

• growing the college's endowment

• increasing enrollment

• implementing improvements to facilities and diagnostic imaging capabilities

• earning full accreditation from the AVMA Council on Education

• receiving full accreditation from the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians for the Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, the MU release notes.

Prior to joining MU, Olson spent almost 25 years at North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in a variety of administrative and professional roles. Olson received his DVM degree from the University of Minnesota and completed his PhD in physiology from Michigan State University.

The University of Missouri provost and interim chancellor, Garnett Stokes, has announced that Carolyn Henry, DVM, MS, DACVIM (oncology), will serve as the interim dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, beginning August 1, according to an MU release. A national search for a permanent dean will begin in the fall.

Henry completed her DVM and MS degrees as well as a residency in veterinary oncology at Auburn University. In 1993 she became an assistant professor in the department of veterinary clinical sciences at Washington State University. She then joined MU in 1997 as an assistant professor of oncology, the release states. In 2001 she received dual appointment with the MU School of Medicine and College of Veterinary Medicine, and in 2002 she became the director of the Tom and Betty Scott Endowed Program in Veterinary Oncology.

Since 2010 Henry has served as the faculty facilitator for the Mizzou Advantage One Health/One Medicine initiative within the Office of the Provost. She was appointed associate director of research for the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in 2012 and has served as the CVM associate dean for the Office of Research and Graduate Studies since 2013.