Wellness Committee

There has been a growing awareness in the veterinary community around the importance of wellbeing and its role in both effective professional performance and career satisfaction. An increasing number of veterinary colleges have opened dialogue about wellbeing concerns, and started making wellness-minded changes at curricular and student services levels. Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine joined these initiatives by creating a Wellness Committee (WELCOM) in 2015 with a commitment to advocating for the health and function of our community including faculty, staff, and students.

WELCOM is charged with initiating programming to reduce the stigma related to mental health concerns and help-seeking, implementing wellness events for the PVM community, consulting with students, faculty, and staff regarding wellness practices and resources, and collaborating with other departments within PVM, on Purdue’s campus, and national organizations which serve to promote personal and professional wellbeing.

Committee Members

  • Colleen Maguire Jackson, PVM Lead Therapist, PVM Wellness Chair
  • John Christian, Associate Professor of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, Lab Director and Section Chief, Clinical Pathology
  • Mindy Cotton, Veterinary Hospital Behavior Technician
  • Jennifer Dehn, Veterinary Hospital Social Worker
  • Lynn Guptill, Associate Professor, Small Animal Internal Medicine
  • Geoff Lossie, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pathology; Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory; Director, Veterinary Extension
  • Leanne Nieforth, Assistant Professor, Human Animal Bond
  • Susan Prieto-Welch, PVM Therapist
  • Jennifer Smith, Instructional Technologist, Veterinary Nursing
  • Lori Stout, Director of Admissions and Recruitment
  • Margie Veverka, Accesioning Clerk/Receptionist, Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory

Student Wellness Subcomittee

Student wellness representatives are members of WELCOM and focus their planning efforts on programs aimed to support DVM, VN, and graduate students. If you have suggestions regarding student wellness initiatives, feel free to reach out to your student wellness cohort representative.

Learn more about our student wellness subcommittee.

"Paws Up" Submissions

This initiative, brought to you by PVM Wellness Committee, gives everyone at PVM the opportunity to experience the benefits gained through practicing gratitude, an evidence-based wellbeing practice. The purpose is to recognize a person (student, staff or faculty), or team/department in our community who did something to brighten your day, or, who you would like to highlight for their “behind the scenes” job which helps keep PVM functioning well on a daily basis. Make your submission here.

Submissions should be 75 words or less and include the name of the person or team you are nominating, the PVM department they work for, and a description of how they brightened your day, helped you do your job better, or kept things running smoothly behind the scenes.

Submissions will be published anonymously in the Vet Gazette and spread throughout the year. The Vet Gazette team may edit submissions for grammar, length, and clarity before publication.  We are looking forward to reading more about the wonderful people who uplift our community through your submissions!

Wellbeing Resources for Faculty and Staff

Wellbeing is just as important for professionals and support staff within PVM as it is for students. WELCOM is invested in sharing resources to all individuals in our college, so we put together a list of helpful wellness resources.