Skip to main content

Purdue Veterinary Conference Outing “Links” Golf with Student Support

A golfer takes a swing as his teammates watch from the sidelines
A golfer takes a swing at the Centaur Equine Specialty Hospital sponsored hole. Companies, individuals, and veterinary practices sponsored nearly all of the 18 holes for the Indiana Animal Health Foundation / Purdue Veterinary Medicine Golf Outing held in conjunction with the Purdue Veterinary Conference on Tuesday, September 17.

What could be better than a warm September afternoon spent on a beautiful golf course just north of the Purdue campus for some friendly competition to benefit students?  That was the situation Tuesday, September 17, when the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Indiana Animal Health Foundation (IAHF) co-hosted the annual Purdue Veterinary Conference Golf Outing at the Coyote Crossing Golf Club in West Lafayette, Ind. 

The event attracted nearly 50 veterinary professionals and corporate representatives who came together for a day of golfing in the form of a modified Florida Scramble tournament.  The outing began with a BBQ lunch just before the golfers gathered in foursomes and fanned out over the 18-hole course for a traditional “shotgun start” at 12:30 p.m.

A long-running conference tradition, the golf outing not only kicked-off PVM’s week of continuing education and special events, but also fulfilled the noble purpose of raising money that is used for student support.  “The annual golf outing raises funds for the IAHF and those funds are directed toward their sponsorship of Boiler Vet Camp scholarships as well as providing some veterinary student scholarships,” said Dr. Jim Weisman, assistant dean for student affairs.

The success of the outing not only reflected the good turnout, but also the support of a variety of event sponsors.  Companies, individuals, and veterinary practices sponsored nearly all of the 18 holes for the tournament.  There even was a $1,000 Hole-in-One prize that was sponsored by Dr. Ed Sommers (PU DVM ’64).  And who wouldn’t dream of winning that?! … though in this case those dreams went unfulfilled.  Special thanks to Dr. Sommers and each of the following hole sponsors for their generous support:

  • Animal Medical Clinic
  • Elanco
  • Patterson
  • Princeton Veterinary Hospital
  • Vetamac
  • Wabash Valley Veterinary Medical Association
  • The Corydon Group
  • Lakefield Veterinary Group

golfers join for a group photo along the golf course at Coyote Crossing
Participants in the annual IAHF / PVM Golf Outing, including event coordinator Lisa Perius, executive director of the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association (front row, 4th from left), gather together for a group photo before heading onto the course.

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

Recent Stories

PVM Professor Emeritus Jan Hawkins Receives Prestigious Award from ACVS

The American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) and the ACVS Foundation have announced the recipients of several prestigious awards, and one of the awardees is Purdue Veterinary Medicine Professor Emeritus Jan Hawkins, DVM, DACVS.  The ACVS Board of Regents selected Dr. Hawkins as the recipient of the Al and Carolyn Schiller Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his exceptional contributions to ACVS through decades of dedicated volunteer leadership and service.

Retreat brings together Veterinary Technology team members 

Members of the Purdue Veterinary Technology Distance Learning (VTDL) Program team recently traveled to Purdue’s West Lafayette campus for an in-person retreat where they could work together and explore new opportunities for teaching, learning, and student success. The two day retreat focused on strengthening collaboration between the program's remote and on-campus teams, and represented a significant milestone for the program.

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.