PVM Professor Appointed to Working Group Helping with Purdue’s Sesquicentennial Plans

April 13, 2018

Purdue Veterinary Medicine Distinguished Professor of Comparative Pathobiology Tim Ratliff is among 16 faculty members appointed by President Mitch Daniels to a faculty working group charged with helping identify themes for the Ideas Festival, which will be the centerpiece of Purdue’s 150th anniversary celebration during 2018-19. In addition to his role as a faculty member in PVM’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Dr. Ratliff serves as the Robert Wallace Miller Director of the Center for Cancer Research.

The faculty working group will be co-chaired by College of Health and Human Sciences Dean Christine Ladisch and Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Mark Lundstrom. According to the co-chairs, the working group has been identifying themes as it reviews proposals submitted following a February callout. A set of themes and the first set of events will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Ideas Festival was announced in February as the centerpiece of the University’s sesquicentennial celebration with the goal of addressing the world’s most pressing issues in a provocative and engaging way that cuts across academic disciplines and connects world-renowned speakers and Purdue expertise. Events may include high-profile national and internationally known speakers, workshops, panel discussions, and curricular, classroom, and community examinations of world-changing technologies and long-term trends.

Purdue’s 150th anniversary celebration is set to kick off at Homecoming 2018, and Ideas Festival events will continue throughout the next year on the West Lafayette campus and around the state, country, and world. Click here to view a news release with a complete list of the faculty working group members.

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

Recent Stories

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.

“Paws Up” – for Dr. Yasumasa Iimori – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

This week we commend Yasumasa Iimori, DVM, PhD, who is a resident in Emergency and Critical Care in the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital.