Skip to main content

PVM Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Receives AAVMC Presidential Award

AAVMC Presidential Award for Meritorious Service recipients join together for a group photo
Dr. Kathy Salisbury (2nd from right), PVM associate dean for academic affairs, was honored at the 2020 AAVMC Annual Conference as one of several recipients of the AAVMC Presidential Award for Meritorious Service.

Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s own Dr. Kathy Salisbury, associate dean for academic affairs, was honored as a recipient of the Association of American Veterinary Medical College’s (AAVMC) Presidential Award for Meritorious Service at the organization’s 2020 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.  The award is presented periodically by the AAVMC to recognize distinguished service and professional achievement. Several individuals who have made special contributions to the AAVMC received the award during a conference session held on Friday, March 6.

Dr. Salisbury was one of 12 members of the Competency Based Veterinary Education (CBVE) Working Group to receive the award.  The CBVE has developed a framework that is currently serving as a model of instructional excellence in veterinary medical colleges and schools across the country and around the world. The award was presented to each member of the CBVE Group in recognition of the historic work they have accomplished in the field of academic veterinary medicine.

Karen and Darcy stand holding their award plaques alongside Tony and Martin on the stage at AAVMC
Purdue Veterinary Medicine alumna Karen Cornell (far left) and Professor Emeritus Darcy Shaw, of the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island (2nd from left), who each received the AAVMC Presidential Award for Meritorious Service as co-directors of the AAVMC Leadership Academy, are pictured with Dr. Tony Rumschlag (PU DVM ’85), representing Leadership Academy sponsor Elanco, and AAVMC President Martin Lairmore.

In addition to her role as associate dean for academic affairs, Dr. Salisbury is a professor of small animal surgery and in 2018 was named as a Purdue University 150th Anniversary Professor in conjunction with the University’s Sesquicentennial.  Dr. Salisbury earned her DVM degree at Michigan State University and completed her specialty training as a surgery resident at Purdue before joining the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences faculty.  In 2010, she was appointed to the position of associate dean for academic affairs after serving five years as assistant dean.

Joining Dr. Salisbury as an AAVMC Presidential Award for Meritorious Service recipient at the 2020 AAVMC Conference was another veterinary medical specialist with Purdue University ties.  Dr. Karen Cornell (PU DVM ’88, PhD ‘93) received the award for her work as a co-director of the AAVMC Leadership Academy, which offers a unique growth opportunity for emerging leaders in academic veterinary medicine. After earning her DVM degree at Purdue, Dr. Cornell worked in private practice for two years before returning to the College to complete an internship and small animal surgery residency and earn her PhD. Since 2016, Dr. Cornell has served on the faculty of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, where she is currently associate dean for professional programs and the Earline and A.P. Wiley Endowed Veterinary Chair. Dr. Cornell returned to her alma mater last year to serve as keynote speaker for PVM’s 60th Anniversary Kick-Off Celebration, which was held March 1, 2019.

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

Recent Stories

Take a jog with a dog for a good cause!

Building on the growing success of a long-running community event and Purdue Veterinary Conference tradition, organizers of the 2026 Dr. Skip Jackson Dog Jog are excited about prospects for a great turnout at this year’s run/walk coming up the morning of Saturday, September 26. And there’s still time to register and participants are welcome whether they are jogging with or without a dog or want to run with an adoptable shelter dog.

PVM well-represented by students, faculty and staff at annual AABP meeting

The American Association of Bovine Practitioners’ (AABP) 59th Annual Conference last month in Minneapolis, Minnesota, included significant representation from the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. A total of 17 students from the 2nd- and 3rd-year classes attended along with faculty and staff and Purdue Veterinary Medicine alumni. Two Purdue veterinary students received special recognition.

In Memory: Dr. Kevin Thomas Schultz (PU DVM ’76)

The Purdue Veterinary Medicine community is saddened to learn of the passing of an alumnus, Dr. Kevin T. Schultz of Dawsonville, Georgia, on August 15, 2026.  He was 74.

In Memory: Mair Lewis – former Purdue Veterinary Medicine First Lady

Mair Lewis (née Harris-Hughes), the widow of the late Dr. Hugh Bilson Lewis – the fourth dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine – is remembered with appreciation and admiration by the Purdue Veterinary Medicine community after her passing September 7, 2026, in Vancouver, Washington. She was 83.

“Paws Up” for Dr. Kenitra Hendrix and Dr. Craig Bowen – brought to you by the the PVM Wellness Committee

This week we share appreciation for Dr. Kenitra Hendrix, Associate Dean for the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories, and Dr. Craig Bowen, Associate Director of the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and Department Head of Accessioning.