Tail-Wagging Success Characterizes PVM’s Participation in Purdue Day of Giving

Lynn 1192 served as headquarters for PVM’s Purdue Day of Giving efforts, at one point even hosting a visit by Purdue’s First Lady Kei Hui (center).

As the day dawned Wednesday, April 30, evidence came pouring in that Boilermakers everywhere – whether alumni, friends and/or fans – were answering the call to make the 2025 Purdue Day of Giving our loudest and proudest “All hail!” yet. And Purdue Veterinary Medicine played a part in the success!

When the 24-hour fundraising drive concluded, another record was broken. A total of 36,875 gifts brought in $105.1 million for the university.

For the College of Veterinary Medicine, PVM pride was shining bright in the midst of that success. Whether in and around Lynn Hall or online, enthusiasm and generosity was abundantly evident. For the day, the college landed a top ten finish on the Purdue Day of Giving total donations leaderboard and the college’s Purdue Day of Giving participation jumped 33% over 2024, propelling the college to a 6th place over all finish in the Giant Leaps Challenge.

The college also saw excellent social media traffic, thanks to great effort and creativity on the part of many who contributed posts and the leadership team overseeing the social media campaign for the college.

Dean Bret Marsh joined VCS faculty members Sarah Waxman and Jesus Hermida for a photo op during the morning hour that was set aside for donuts and coffee with the dean to encourage participation in the Purdue Day of Giving faculty-staff challenge.

A huge thank you to everyone associated with Purdue Veterinary Medicine who participated in the Purdue Day of Giving, whether by volunteering, donating, or sharing PVM Pride online!

Your extraordinary generosity makes you one of Purdue’s heroes and helps us achieve new victories. We are ever grateful for the overwhelming response we received and your willingness to give back to the old gold and black.

To view highlights from the day, including the final leaderboards and winners of the hourly challenges, visit https://dayofgiving.purdue.edu/.

Congratulations PVM! Boiler Up, and all hail our own Purdue!

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

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.

Purdue Veterinary Medicine Unites with Purdue United Way Campaign

With the goal of raising $700,000 by November 4 to support local nonprofit organizations that help individuals and families in Greater Lafayette, the Purdue United Way campaign took off September 23 with an official campaign launch on the front lawn of the Purdue Memorial Union. Purdue Veterinary Medicine, along with the university’s other colleges and units, will participate with the help of PVM faculty and staff ambassadors working to make it easy for people in the college to respond, whether by giving, or by indicating that they do not wish to give. As part of the PVM drive to support the campaign, Dean Bret Marsh and his wife, Polly, are contributing a match for campaign contributions from college faculty and staff. Additionally, a drawing will be held to select winners from those who contribute.

“Paws Up” – for Dr. Yasumasa Iimori – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

This week we commend Yasumasa Iimori, DVM, PhD, who is a resident in Emergency and Critical Care in the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital.