Purdue Day of Giving Adds up to a Giant Leap for PVM’s 60th Anniversary!

April 26, 2019

Love a Lab event volunteers and canine educators pause for a photo at Memorial Mall — Purdue veterinary students and their Canine Educators joined the PVM Advancement Office staff for a successful “Love a Lab” event on the Memorial Mall during the Purdue Day of Giving. The event raised funds for the College while giving donors a chance to meet the PVM Canine Educators.

As the clock struck midnight, it was clear that the Purdue Day of Giving Wednesday, April 24, was an outstanding day both for Purdue and for the College of Veterinary Medicine! In its 6^th year, Purdue Day of Giving raised a record total of $41,596,596 received through 21,420 gifts – an amazing showing of generosity and support for the University and its accomplishments over the last 150 years.

A joyful scene of people interacting with golden and black dogs on a grassy area, emphasizing companionship and pet therapy.

We are especially proud and grateful for the way our community of advocates stepped up this year to be engaged on behalf of the College of Veterinary Medicine. The number of gifts this year for our College was more than TWICE that of last year with 500 gifts, positioning us in the Top Ten for participation across campus and earning the College an additional $2,283 in bonus funds! The outpouring of energy from others who took the time to participate in hourly challenges, take photos, and spread the word made an impact on our overall success as well.

In addition, the College received $115,847 in contributions to support the new Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the Dean’s Innovation Fund, SAVMA Purdue, and many other programs. These funds will ensure that we can continue the important work being done on a daily basis to advance animal and human health. A total of 145 gifts were received for the new Veterinary Teaching Hospital project, which is a strong signal that visibility for our work is reaching new heights. It is amazing to see what we can accomplish together!

An aerial view of a campus with a fountain, featuring a prominent Thank You! message.

Special thanks to the Canine Educator’s group for volunteering at the Love a Lab fundraiser, which was a great way to promote our Veterinary Teaching Hospital program across campus. The event on Purdue’s Memorial Mall proved very worthwhile, raising over $500 in just a few short hours to help provide new equipment for the new hospital, while also giving donors a chance to enjoy the benefits of the human-animal bond. It is an exciting time at Purdue Veterinary Medicine! Thank you for helping the College of Veterinary Medicine take its next Giant Leap during our 60^th Anniversary year!

As it turned out, the Purdue Day of Giving donations for the new Veterinary Teaching Hospital came the same day when the Indiana legislature approved the new state budget, which includes a $73 million appropriation toward construction of the new facility. “With this support, and pending the state budget bill being signed by the governor and the hospital project receiving formal approval by the Purdue Board of Trustees, we can say that our dream of having a new state-of-the-art hospital facility will become a reality,” Dean Willie Reed said. The College’s fundraising efforts for the new hospital are ongoing.

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

Recent Stories

Retreat brings together Veterinary Technology team members

Members of the Purdue Veterinary Technology Distance Learning (VTDL) Program team recently traveled to Purdue’s West Lafayette campus for an in-person retreat where they could work together and explore new opportunities for teaching, learning, and student success. The two day retreat focused on strengthening collaboration between the program's remote and on-campus teams, and represented a significant milestone for the program.

Annual Purdue Veterinary Conference draws veterinary professionals from across the country for learning and fun

The 2026 edition of the annual Purdue Veterinary Conference attracted attendees from around the U.S. for three days of educational sessions covering an array of topics. With the overall theme of “One Health: Modern Veterinary Medicine,” the conference September 23-26 on the Purdue University campus drew more than 450 veterinarians and veterinary technicians, plus faculty, staff and students. Sessions taught by a total of 65 speakers, including many Purdue Veterinary Medicine clinicians and veterinary technicians/technologists, enabled conference-goers to earn up to 23 continuing education credit hours.

Significant Gift from Jordan Smelski Foundation will fuel Purdue Veterinary Medicine research on deadly brain eating amoeba

A researcher in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology has received a generous gift of more than $100,000 from the Jordan Smelski Foundation for Amoeba Awareness and Mr. Steve Smelski to support research of the deadly amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Christopher Rice, PhD, assistant professor of parasitology and principal investigator of the Rice Research Group, leads a research team seeking to discover and repurpose drugs against primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare but typically fatal infection caused by Naegleria fowleri.

Purdue veterinary student receives Sir John D. Spurling Scholarship awarded by AKC Humane Fund

The AKC® Humane Fund, Inc.℠ has announced the 2026 recipients of the Sir John D. Spurling Scholarship, celebrating the human-canine bond, and one of the recipients is Purdue veterinary student Tiffany Chang of the Class of 2027. Chang is one of only five students chosen for the scholarships.

Purdue Veterinary Medicine Unites with Purdue United Way Campaign

With the goal of raising $700,000 by November 4 to support local nonprofit organizations that help individuals and families in Greater Lafayette, the Purdue United Way campaign took off September 23 with an official campaign launch on the front lawn of the Purdue Memorial Union. Purdue Veterinary Medicine, along with the university’s other colleges and units, will participate with the help of PVM faculty and staff ambassadors working to make it easy for people in the college to respond, whether by giving, or by indicating that they do not wish to give. As part of the PVM drive to support the campaign, Dean Bret Marsh and his wife, Polly, are contributing a match for campaign contributions from college faculty and staff. Additionally, a drawing will be held to select winners from those who contribute.