UW-Madison veterinary dean announces retirement

Madison, Wis.

— Dr. Daryl Buss, the second dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (UW-Madison), will retire next year, ending a 17-year stint in the post.

“For someone who always said he never had any interest in administration, 32 years as a department chair and dean turned out to be a very rewarding experience,” says Buss, DVM, MS, PhD. He will begin his retirement in June 2012.

Buss took over as dean at UW-Madison in 1994, succeeding founding dean Dr. Bernard Easterday. Previously, Buss chaired the Physiological Sciences Department at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.

It’s the ideal time to pass the torch to a new dean, Buss says, citing the recent conclusion of a contentious budget process, a high number of upcoming faculty retirements and re-accreditation scheduled for 2015.

“We’re at a point in the school’s maturation and various cycles where we need to revise and update or devise a completely new strategic plan,” he says. “That’s a process that would benefit from a new dean’s input, especially a dean that has had some time on the ground to get to know the school well.”

UW-Madison did not announce its plans to replace the retiring dean.