Conference Keynote Speaker to Encourage Action by Offering Practical Tips on Diversity and Inclusion

August 7, 2020

Dr. Kemba Marshall will encourage participants to talk a little less and act a little more during the 2020 Purdue Veterinary Conference Diversity Keynote presentation to be held Thursday, September 24.  During a time when diversity and inclusion are top of mind for us as a Nation, as veterinary professionals, and as individuals, Dr. Marshall’s session will offer practical tips to assess and address gaps in diversity and inclusion.  While people likely have been through multiple training sessions on the topics of diversity and inclusion, such programs do not always offer steps to begin or improve diversity in our professional lives.  This session will focus on providing participants with practical steps on how to get started.

Dr. Marshall serves as the director of veterinary services for Land O’Lakes, Inc.  In addition to providing on-farm veterinary support and veterinary technical support for the company’s Purina customer service and sales team representatives, Dr. Marshall also is involved with new product development.

Dr. Marshall received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Howard University and her DVM degree from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.  She then went on to complete an avian/exotic animal residency at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.  Dr. Marshall is a diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Avian) and has worked in private veterinary practice, university laboratory animal practice, and corporate retail veterinary practice.

The virtual Purdue Veterinary Conference September 22-25 will offer three days of high quality tracks covering equine, exotics, industry innovations, one health and emergency preparedness, practice management and communication, ruminant, small animal, swine, and topics of interest for veterinary nurses.  Attendees can earn up to 24 hours of continuing education, and will have access to a virtual exhibit hall. 

This year’s conference would not be possible without the generosity of these sponsors:  IDEXX, Banfield Pet Hospital, the Indiana Board of Animal Health/Indiana State Department of Health, Nutrena, Purina, Zoetis, Elanco, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, and Coyne Veterinary Services.

Click here to view the schedule and learn more about the conference. Click here to register.

Writer(s): Andrea Brown and 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.