Dr. Christine Jenkins Speaks on Diversity and Inclusion during Inclusive Excellence Week

January 26, 2018

PVM’s Martin Luther King Jr. Keynote Speaker for Inclusive Excellence Week Christine Jenkins (center) with members of the executive board of the PVM VOICE chapter (left-right): Christina Smith, Alyssa Tamayo, VOICE chapter president Morgan Fortune, Edris Grate, Mary Jordan and Jessie Whitfield.

Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s VOICE chapter (Veterinarians as One Inclusive Community for Empowerment) hosted Inclusive Excellence Week last week, January 15-18, which featured several special events, including a number of guest speakers. The Martin Luther King Jr. Keynote Speaker was Dr. Christine Jenkins, chief medical officer and vice president of veterinary medical services and outcomes research at Zoetis. Due to the rare opportunities she has to give such presentations, her talk proved a unique opportunity for the PVM family.

Dr. Jenkins earned her DVM degree from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee University in 1984. She then completed an internship at the University of Florida and a residency at the University of Tennessee in small animal internal medicine. As a featured guest speaker, she spoke about the value of an inclusive work environment and its impact on meeting business objectives. “Organizations that have a diverse leadership team, which includes diversity of nationality, skill-set, as well as gender, are more successful,” she said in her talk on Thursday in Lynn 1136. Dr. Jenkins has worked for Zoetis (formerly known as Pfizer Animal Health) for several years. Noting that Zoetis is the largest global animal health company, she commented, “we take an inclusive environment extremely seriously.” She also reiterated the importance of making people feel comfortable and included within an organization.

Other events and activities throughout Inclusive Excellence Week included participation in Purdue’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service; a talk by Dr. Kenita Rogers, executive associate dean at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine, entitled Diversity, Inclusion and Wellness: It Takes a Village; and a presentation by Dr. Ruth Landau (PU DVM 2000; PhD 2013) entitled Working with Limited English Proficient Spanish-speaking Pet Owners and other Tales from the City! All of the topics addressed vital tips for embracing diversity and inclusion as a key to achieving excellence within the profession of veterinary medicine.

Dr. Christine Jenkins shares her insights on the topic “Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace,” as part of PVM’s Inclusive Excellence Week.

VOICE chapter president Morgan Fortune presents a VOICE T-shirt to Dr. Christine Jenkins as a gesture of appreciation for her lecture as the Martin Luther King Jr. Keynote Speaker during PVM’s Inclusive Excellence Week.

Writer(s): Helen Thimlar, PVM Communications Intern | 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.