PVM Student Joins Dean Reed for Congressional Visits during AAVMC’s Advocacy Day

March 29, 2019

Kristi Crow and Dean Reed stand behind James Baird in his office — Purdue veterinary student Kristi Crow, president of SAVMA Purdue, and Dean Willie Reed met on Capitol Hill with U.S. Rep. James Baird from Indiana’s 4th congressional district.

In conjunction with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., SAVMA Purdue President Kristi Crow, a member of the DVM Class of 2020, accompanied Purdue Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed on a visit to Capitol Hill to talk with policy-makers. Their visit on March 7 was part of the AAVMC’s annual Advocacy Day, when a total of 84 educators representing 27 states and all of the AAVMC’s U.S. based member institutions spent the day going to the offices of U.S. representatives and senators to discuss key issues in academic veterinary medicine.

“I had the amazing opportunity to meet with our representatives alongside Dean Reed to lobby for issues related to veterinary medicine,” Kristi said. “I was grateful to have this opportunity to be a voice for the veterinary students not only from Purdue, but from all veterinary schools and colleges across the nation.”

Kristi Crow stands on the sidewalk with the US Capitol Building in the background — As part of the AAVMC Advocacy Day, Kristi Crow paused for a keepsake photo in front of the U.S. Capitol Building.

During their visits on Capitol Hill, Kristi and Dean Reed specifically provided information about key legislative issues related to the veterinary medical profession, including preservation of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which was created to ensure that talented professionals are available to serve as healthcare providers, first responders, and public safety professionals in localities across the country. They also encouraged support for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and the Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP). The VMLRP was authorized to encourage large animal veterinarians to practice in communities that the USDA designates as veterinary shortage areas. The VSGP helps large animal veterinarians become established in those rural communities by addressing gaps in veterinarian recruitment, attracting and training technical support staff, and meeting the long-term costs of operating veterinary practices in such areas. Additionally, Kristi and Dean Reed expressed the importance of federal investment in innovation, research, and development, noting that laboratories in the nation’s colleges of veterinary medicine provide critical support for the National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies.

Altogether, participants in the AAVMC Advocacy Day visited 107 offices in the House of Representatives and 58 offices in the U.S. Senate. They met with staffers and 33 different senators and congressmen.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

“Paws Up” – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

Behind the scenes, Alicia Williams has been making PVM a kinder, stronger place.

Purdue Veterinary Medicine Computational Biologist Uses Big Data, AI and Math to Find Patterns in Cancer

With recent advances, cancer research now generates vast amounts of information. The data could help researchers detect patterns in cancer cells and stop their growth, but the sheer volume is just too much for the human mind to digest. Enter Nadia Lanman, research associate professor in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology, whose expertise in computational biology helps researchers at Purdue University distill solutions from the sea of numbers.

Purdue to Host Fourth Annual Antimicrobial Conference in February

With leadership by the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, the Fourth Annual Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) will be held at Purdue University West Lafayette February 25–26, 2026. With multidrug-resistant infections on the rise globally, this event brings together experts and practitioners across the spectrum of human, animal, and environmental health to address one of today’s most urgent public health challenges.

PVM Well-represented by Humans and Animals During Annual Homecoming Celebrations

Every fall, Boilermakers from near and far return to the campus in West Lafayette for the annual ritual known as Homecoming. And Purdue’s Homecoming events also attract plenty of non-alumni who are Purdue fans, patrons, prospective students, or clients of the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital. During this year’s Homecoming weekend October 24-25, Purdue Veterinary Medicine engaged with attendees in multiple ways, with the help of some furry companions.

Purdue University and Akston Biosciences Bring “First Dose of Hope” in New Cancer Immunotherapy Trial for Dogs with Urinary Bladder Cancer

The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, in partnership with Akston Biosciences Corporation, has initiated the enrollment of dogs with urinary bladder cancer in a clinical trial of a pioneering immunotherapy. The strategic partnership between Purdue and Akston was announced in August after the underlying technology was developed at the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research (PICR).

“Paws Up” – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

Today we share appreciation for Beth Laffoon, MS, RVT, and Holly McCalip, BS, RVT, who are both instructional technologists in the Veterinary Nursing Program.

MMAS Symposium Brings Participants Face to Face with Specialists and Species from Parrots to Pocket Pets

Thanks to Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s Exotic Animal Club and dedicated faculty, staff and students, nearly 100 in-person and on-line participants got a chance recently to gain valuable knowledge and insight about the Medicine of Mammalian and Avian Species. The two-day educational event known as the MMAS Symposium is a biennial conference, and the 2024 edition held in Lynn Hall November 9 and 10 featured an impressive program that included 22 lectures and several hands-on labs, organized into two tracks focusing on avian and mammalian species.

Veterinary Boilermakers Take Part in Purdue One Health Alumni Reunion

Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine faculty, staff and students turned out for Purdue University’s first One Health Alumni Reunion, which was held on the West Lafayette campus November 14-16. They joined more than 150 Boilermakers from a variety of medical professions who came together to network and participate in timely discussions with Purdue President Mung Chiang, First Lady Kei Hui and fellow alumni.