More PVM Students Earn Certificates of Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine

February 28, 2020

Dean Reed stands beside a group of students holding up their certificates — Dean Willie Reed honored seven first-year DVM students in VM 82500 at the beginning of class on February 25 for earning their Certificates of Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine: (back row, left-right) Evan Ward, Malaycia Goldsmith, Keri Anderson, and Samantha Larkin; (front row, left-right) Jenny Oberhelman, Taryn Stevens, and Elimar Ruiz Cortes.

The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine is recognizing a group of DVM and veterinary nursing students who recently completed their Certificates of Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine. Developed in conjunction with the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, the certificate program is offered through PVM’s Center of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine.

Requirements for earning the certificate include cultural competency assessments, completion of a series of online modules, community service, participation in approved activities, and submission of a capstone paper detailing how the person will use the information learned through the program to strengthen diversity and inclusion in veterinary medicine. All students currently enrolled at PVM are registered for the program and are required to complete the online modules. Then they may choose to complete the rest of the requirements on their own time.

First-year DVM students finish the online modules as part of the required VM 82500 class, “Current Issues in Veterinary Medicine.” Seven of the students in the DVM Class of 2023, six students in the Veterinary Nursing Class of 2020, and a fourth-year DVM student, who is away on a study abroad experience, went the extra mile to earn their Certificates of Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine by completing the additional requirements. The first-year students in VM 82500 who completed the program were recognized individually by Dean Willie Reed at the beginning of class on February 25, when he personally presented their certificates.

Congratulations to all of the following PVM students for recently completing the Certificate of Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine program:

DVM Class of 2023:

Keri Anderson
Malaycia Goldsmith
Samantha Larkin
Jenny Oberhelman
Elimar Ruiz Cortes
Taryn Stevens
Evan Ward

DVM Class of 2020:

Danielle Miller

Veterinary Nursing Class of 2020:

Megan Allan
Marie Herring
Evelyn Foster
Sydni Mullet
Caitlin Obren
Erica Wright

Writer(s): Maya Sanaba, PVM Communications Intern, and Adrianne Fisch | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

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

This week we express our gratitude to Jennifer Danaher, who is department secretary for Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

‘Purdue Pursuits’: A PVM angle on Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups

Crafting meaningful and engaging course experiences has been at the top of Dielson Vieira’s mind ever since he joined the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty in 2024. As a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Vieira is already adept at applying innovative teaching practices to classroom environments, but that doesn’t stop him from seeking out new ideas, approaches and perspectives — insights he gains through outlets like Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups.

Top tier biology journal publishes PVM study that unlocks secrets of a drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious infections in humans

Though the name “Candida auris” is far from a household term, public health experts know it well because the multi-drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious human infections, has been classified as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antibiotic Threats Report (2019). Dr. Shankar Thangamani, Associate Professor of Microbiology and University Faculty Scholar in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology, is researching C. auris, aided by a 2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). New research findings, just published in Nature Microbiology, show how C. auris adapts and evades the immune system.

In Print: ‘Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies’

A just-published 300-page volume edited by Jessica Fortin, Purdue assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Medical Sciences, provides a significant new resource for researchers studying a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. “Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies” provides detailed protocols intentionally selected to serve as a basis for research laboratories seeking to further treatments for such debilitating neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

It’s Almost Here!

Though the annual Purdue Veterinary Conference is almost upon us, there’s still time to register and take advantage of this time-honored College of Veterinary Medicine fall tradition that combines excellent continuing education with fun opportunities for reconnecting with colleagues and classmates, networking, and learning about the latest veterinary trends and products. The 2026 Purdue Veterinary Conference takes place September 23–26 on the Purdue University campus. The annual event has something for everyone, from veterinarians to veterinary technicians, faculty, staff and students.