Seeing veterinary college classmates, colleagues and faculty, staff and students face-to-face was a highlight of the 2022 Purdue Veterinary Conference as the annual event returned to an in-person format. For the prior two years, the program was conducted virtually due to the pandemic.
Held at the Purdue Memorial Union and Lynn Hall September 20-24, the Conference featured a full slate of over 100 courses offering Continuing Education credits. In addition, attendees had many opportunities to visit the Exhibit Hall, which featured more than 25 exhibitors. They also were able to join in special events, including the Alumni and Friends Celebration Thursday, September 22, when top alumni and teaching awards were presented and alumni in classes celebrating milestone reunions were recognized.
The conference attracted nearly 750 attendees, including more than 170 veterinarians and 110 veterinary nurses as well as College of Veterinary Medicine faculty, staff and students. The week kicked off with the annual Elanco Human Animal Bond Lecture featuring a talk entitled “The Other End of the Leash: Why Animals Are Important for Human Development,” featuring Dr. Gail Melson, Professor Emerita with the Purdue University Department of Human Development & Family Studies, who has played a long-standing role in research related to the human animal bond.
Other conference features included two keynote sessions. Makenzie Peterson, DSW, MSc, gave the Wellness Keynote at noon Wednesday, September 21, in the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom. Her talk was entitled, “Culture Change & Wellbeing in Veterinary Medicine.” The Diversity Keynote on Thursday, September 22, featured Dr. Lisa M. Greenhill, who gave a presentation entitled, “Developing your Sense of Agency to Promote Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in the Workplace.”
The conference also featured various continuing education tracks including Veterinary Nursing, Small Animal, Ruminant, Swine, Equine, and Practice Management and Communication, as well as industry presentations, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) modules, and a Diagnostic Medicine track that included sessions led by Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory section heads and Dr. Kenitra Hendrix, ADDL director; Dr. Craig Bowen, ADDL assistant director; and Dr. Grant Burcham, veterinary diagnostician with the Heeke Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Southern Indiana.
The conference concluded with a beloved tradition, the Dr. Skip Jackson Dog Jog, which started and ended in front of Lynn Hall, adjacent to the Continuum Sculpture. The successful event was extra meaningful this year, because it occurred just days after the passing of its namesake, Dr. Horace “Skip” Jackson, professor emeritus of biochemistry and veterinary physiology. As a tribute to Dr. Jackson, a moment of silence was held at the beginning of the race. Then Dean Willie Reed led a countdown to the official start of the race, and participants, including dozens of canine companions, were off and running or walking on a course that wound past picturesque areas of the southern portion of the Purdue campus.
The dates already are set for next year’s Purdue Veterinary Conference. The conference will be held September 19-23, 2023.