Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine announces new dean

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine announced July 18 that Cyril R. Clarke, BVSc, PhD, DACVCP, would be the school’s next dean. He succeeds Gerhardt Schurig, DVM, PhD, who plans to return to the faculty after serving as dean for the past 10 years. Clarke is currently a professor at and dean of Oregon State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Clarke arrives at a time of significant growth for the college. Plans are underway for a new translational medicine building, research labs, and training spaces for interdisciplinary research that will expand the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. “[The college] is particularly well positioned to advance translational medicine and the concept of One Health, which recognizes the close linkage between animal and public health,” Clarke says in a release from the college. “The partnership involving two land-grant universities provides an excellent opportunity for further development of innovative and collaborative programs.”

Clarke will continue to teach clinical pharmacology to veterinary students, according to the college, and has a professional interest in instructional methodology. His research has focused on interactions between bacteria, antibacterial agents and host defenses; drug disposition and pharmacokinetics; and biosensor technology development. Clarke has been honored with the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence and the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association’s President’s Award, in addition to having been recognized for excellence in teaching. He has been awarded more than 40 research grants and contracts, including serving as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than $2.2 million in awards.

Clarke received a bachelor of veterinary sciences degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 1981 and a PhD in veterinary medical sciences from Louisiana State University in 1987. He also holds a master’s degree in higher education from Oklahoma State University, where he was a faculty member from 1987 to 2007 and served as department head and associate dean for academic affairs. He assumed the position of dean at Oregon State University in 2007. He will assume his new post at Virginia-Maryland Oct. 1.