The College of Veterinary Medicine bid a fond farewell to the following faculty members as they embarked on their next adventure — retirement.
Dr. Nickie Baird, professor of large animal surgery in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, retired after 20 years at Purdue effective in January 2022. Promoted to full professor in 2017, Dr. Baird served in many administrative capacities, including as chief of staff of the Large Animal Hospital since 2012 and as a member of the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital’s management team that provided leadership in lieu of a director from 2019-2020. He continues his career with a new appointment at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Regina Kreisle, professor in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology and former associate dean and director of the Indiana University School of Medicine–West Lafayette, retired from Purdue at the end of June following a faculty tenure that spanned 33 years. She was promoted to full professor in 2004, and in 2014, accepted an appointment as interim director of the IU School of Medicine–West Lafayette. She was named director in 2016 and remained in that position until 2021.
Dr. Margaret “Peg” Miller, professor of veterinary pathology in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology and anatomic pathology training coordinator in the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, retired May 6 after 19 years on Purdue’s faculty and over 40 years of service in higher education. In addition to her service in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Miller served as a faculty researcher in the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research.
Dr. José Ramos-Vara, professor of veterinary pathology in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology and section head of the Histopathology and Immunohistochemistry Laboratories in the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, retired effective May 6 after 19 years of service to the university. Additionally, Dr. Ramos-Vara was a diagnostic pathologist specializing in surgical pathology and necropsy, serving as section head of pathology in the ADDL since 2019.