When the clock struck 8:00 a.m. on Monday, November 4, a new dean of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine was seated at the desk in the Dean’s Office ready to begin a new chapter in the life of the college where he earned his DVM degree 40 years earlier. Dr. Bret Marsh (PU DVM ’84) was announced as the newly appointed Dean and Veterinary Hospital CEO by Purdue Provost Patrick Wolfe October 24 and his new role began just as he concluded a career as Indiana State Veterinarian and head of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health – a term of public service that spanned 40 years.
With just a weekend break between his retirement as state veterinarian and his first day on the job as Purdue Veterinary Medicine Dean, Dr. Marsh wasted no time in assuming his new responsibilities. “It is an honor for me to serve as the next dean of Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine,” Dr. Marsh said in a message to faculty, staff and students during his first week in his new role. “I truly cherish the opportunity this position affords to advance the college, university and veterinary profession that I love.”
Dean Marsh had the opportunity to visit personally with faculty, staff and students during a welcome reception held in the Veterinary Medical Library on Friday, November 8. Dr. Kathy Salisbury, Purdue Veterinary Medicine associate dean for academic affairs, introduced Dr. Marsh as a Purdue alumnus and first generation college student from rural Indiana who earned his bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from the Purdue College of Agriculture before enrolling in the veterinary college and earning his Purdue
DVM degree. She also shared several highlights of his career, noting that he:
- Led a legislative effort to establish the Indiana Center for Animal Policy to explore creative solutions to the challenges of delivering high quality veterinary medicine to the citizens throughout the state.
- Established multiple programs focusing on animal health as well as public health, and multiple collaborations with the college such as working with the Willie M. Reed Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, and the Purdue Veterinary Alumni Association, Boiler Vet Camp, Canine Care Certified Program.
- Visited the college to speak in different classes and also recruited many PVM students as interns at the Board of Animal Health.
- Established an initiative for disaster preparedness for animals in Indiana and he established an information network to alert veterinarians and animal owners to the threat of foreign animal diseases and emerging domestic diseases.
- Established an advanced Animal Disease Traceability System for the state, including a requirement for premises registration for livestock, electronic tag distribution and advanced training for veterinarians statewide in the use of electronic certificates of veterinary inspection, improving speed and efficiency for disease investigations.
Dr. Salisbury then encouraged everyone to join her in welcoming Dean Marsh and helping to smooth his transition by assisting him in learning about all the different aspects of the college. For Dr. Marsh, stepping into the new role involves an intriguing mix of learning new information while also benefitting from all that he already knows as a result of the experience and knowledge he has gained through his active involvement with Purdue as an alumnus, and his service to the veterinary medical profession and animal agriculture at state and national levels. Click here to read a message from Dean Marsh in the form of his first Dean’s Column.
Since graduating as a member of the Purdue DVM Class of 1984, Dr. Marsh has witnessed and participated in multiple college milestones, often with his wife Polly and their two children at his side. In 2000, they all were present for the dedication of the college’s Continuum Sculpture, and his son and daughter, Spencer and Lacey, were the first to take advantage of the chance to sit on the horse that is one of the sculpture components. Dr. Marsh himself participated in the sculpture dedication, teaming-up with Purdue graduate and Purdue trustee at the time, John Hardin, to unveil the pig that is another of the bronze figures. Other college milestones that Dr. Marsh experienced firsthand included the groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies for the 1995 addition to Lynn Hall, and the college’s 50th anniversary celebrations that featured multiple events in 2009.
Beyond Purdue, Dr. Marsh’s involvement and leadership in veterinary medicine and animal agriculture has involved statewide and national roles, including serving as special detail to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture’s homeland security staff following 9/11, and holding leadership roles with the United States Animal Health Association, serving as president and as a member of its board of directors. He also served actively in the American Veterinary Medical Association as the Indiana delegate and later as a six-term treasurer. At the state level, he served the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association as its president and board chair.
Dr. Marsh’s appointment as dean followed a national search for the successor to Dr. Willie Reed, who served 17-and-a-half years as dean and for whom the Willie M. Reed Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory on campus is named. The dean search was led by Lucy Flesch, Purdue’s Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science, with input from a 10-person search advisory committee comprising faculty, staff, students and external stakeholders.
Dr. Marsh will serve as dean, Veterinary Hospital CEO, and clinical professor of veterinary medicine, with a focus on Purdue’s One Health initiative. “I couldn’t be more pleased to have recruited someone of Dr. Marsh’s caliber to take our cherished college to new heights,” Wolfe said. “There is much work to do in advancing our land-grant mission, both by better serving our state and by advancing us to the top rank of colleges nationally.”
The search process involved a strong slate of international finalists and resulted in key observations that provided clarity about the priorities for the college’s new leader, which include enhancing and expanding the college’s research profile, taking a leading role in the university’s One Health strategic priority and concomitant design of a new Life Sciences Research Building, and creating a net “veterinarian brain gain” for Indiana.
Dr. Marsh said his veterinary medical career has been built on safeguarding animal health through innovation and partnerships, with a passion for public service to the people of Indiana. “I look forward to continuing those efforts as dean,” Dr. Marsh said. “As Indiana state veterinarian, I saw how animal health is inextricably linked to environmental and human health — from food safety to farms to pets in our homes. I want to ensure Purdue is leading the way in One Health through research and preparing the next generation of veterinarians.”
“Purdue’s leadership team looks forward to working with the College of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty, staff, students, and Dean Marsh, to take Purdue Veterinary Medicine to new heights, as we build on Dean Emeritus Willie Reed’s exceptional legacy,” Wolfe said. He also expressed appreciation to Professor of Small Animal Surgery and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Kathy Salisbury, for her excellent service as interim dean over the past few months.
