Tag: leadership Page 1 of 3

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

Dean Michael Lairmore assumes role of President of AAVMC in March.

This week I have the distinct privilege to be appointed as President of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), during the association’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. The conference will focus on “The Science of Building Inclusive Teams,” to promote more effective group decision-making and organizational development.

The mission of the AAVMC is parallel to the School’s mission, through the promotion of health of people, animals and the environment by advancing the profession and the education of veterinary students to meet the needs of a changing world. In assuming a leadership position in this organization, I am proud to represent the values, aspirations, and goals of our School beyond UC Davis.

Lighting the Way into the Future of Veterinary Medicine

By Michael Lairmore

On January 2, 2019

In Dean's Perspectives

“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” — George Bernard Shaw

The holiday season marks not only a joyous time to celebrate the past year, but the beginning of a new year with all of its promise and hopes for the future. For UC Davis Veterinary Medicine, the past year has been a mixture of tremendous accomplishments and extreme sadness. We have opened new avenues to understand diseases that impact our society and battled disasters in our backyard. Our teachers inspired a new generation of students and learned from them in the process. The contrasts are striking between the extreme optimism of the next generation we are privileged to teach, and the problems we struggle with on a daily basis.

Our plans are made and then disrupted by the reality of the constantly changing world around us. While our beliefs are strong, we are shaken by the stark reality that our democracy faces unprecedented challenges from those who believe scientific facts are a matter of belief versus sound principles of inquiry. As we look to the future we are reminded how connected the world is and how events are part of an interwoven story that connects us to each other and the natural world.

Honoring Our Alumni—Foundation to Our Success

By Michael Lairmore

On October 17, 2018

In Dean's Perspectives

“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” –Oprah Winfrey

We recently hosted the combined Fall Festival and Alumni Reunion allowing us to welcome back our alumni to celebrate their memories of their time with us, their life accomplishments since graduation, and their contributions to the legacy of our school. The gathering featured major milestones for our alumni highlighted by events focused on the 50th and 60th reunions of the Classes of 1968 and 1958, respectively. During our traditional Rose Ceremony, we took time to focus on the Class of 1968 celebrating their 50th anniversary, in a poignant and heartwarming affair in which classmates shared stories, both humorous and touching, about themselves and those that have been lost over the years.

I was particularly impressed by our Friday evening festivities, kicked off with special appearances by Gunrock (the UC Davis mascot) and an energetic performance by the UC Davis marching “Band-uh,” while alumni and current students enjoyed a BBQ dinner. After entertainment by the Uncovered band (comprised of several of our talented staff), current students took part in a talent show. Their singing, dancing, instrumental playing, and spirit overwhelmed many of our alumni who were impressed by our students’ energy, maturity, and talent.

Harold Davis–A Leader Through Sincerity and Service

By Michael Lairmore

On July 9, 2018

In Dean's Perspectives

“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” — Douglas Adams

Harold Davis, service manager for the Emergency and Critical Care Service at the UC Davis Veterinary Hospital.

I recently had the privilege to interview one of our outstanding retiring staff members, Harold Davis. He sat smiling in my office, humbly expressing his gratitude for his employment of more than 30 years working in our Emergency and Critical Care Service at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. He spoke in his typical soft deep voice, sounding like a self-effacing version of James Earl Jones. We recalled the many changes he lived through in our hospital including working for four different directors, the excitement of planning for our new Veterinary Medical Center, to more poignant stories of patient survival and tragic events he witnessed over the years.

Harold also warmly spoke of the many relationships he formed over time with those he worked with, consistently praising his co-workers for their talents and gift of friendships formed while doing a job he loved. What I felt most while listening to Harold was his sincerity and integrity. These traits are incorporated closely with his character, and as he spoke radiated through his caring words of advice and wisdom.

Resiliency as a Critical Component of Success

By Michael Lairmore

On May 14, 2018

In Dean's Perspectives

“Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.”- Bernard Williams

Members of the Class of 2018 during their White Coat ceremony in 2014 at their induction into veterinary school.

As commencement season begins, my thoughts turn to our new graduates who will soon receive their DVM degree. Since the establishment of the school in 1948, we have been leaders in veterinary medicine by working to benefit the health of animals, people, and the environment in California and beyond. Our school, and its alumni, have shaped the field of veterinary medicine, from developing innovative education programs to discovering mechanisms of animal and human diseases. Our new graduates join this legacy.

The Class of 2018 came to us with an intense desire to gain the skills of this great profession and a passion to advance animal health. They are graduating into a world of great promise, and many challenges. Along the way, they have enriched the school’s history with their own unique characteristics that bonded them to each other and to those that trained them. The many hours of study and exams, along with the countless time spent with their animal patients, are the tip of the iceberg of the journey it took to get them to this moment. Each of them has their own unique story to tell. Each of them has overcome barriers, faced doubt from others and in themselves, or may have endured heartbreaking events that changed their path along this voyage.

Importantly, they would not be at this touchstone along their career unless they possessed a trait that is critical to anyone’s success in life—a characteristic as important as the knowledge learned in veterinary school. They had to be resilient in their own way. Resiliency is defined as the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.

Celebrating Diversity as a Source of Strength

By Michael Lairmore

On April 9, 2018

In Dean's Perspectives

“The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability as opposed to resilience and hard work, we will be brittle in the face of adversity.” -Joshua Waitzkin

As I watched our students celebrate our annual Diversity Day, I was impressed with their unity expressed through their voices, spirit, and talents. Our students’ energy reflected the strength that is exhibited when we celebrate our nation’s multicultural tapestry. We celebrate those that join us from various backgrounds and cultures, learning from each other as we come together with a common purpose to foster education, research, and service to society.

It is no surprise that in the business world, companies with top quartile diversity (defined as women and international representatives) on their executive boards, generated returns that were ~50% higher, on average, than the companies in the bottom diversity quartile. We should not be surprised that in our profession, when we harness the power of a diverse workforce, we better position ourselves to address society’s problems. Our school has consistently demonstrated our commitment to recruit a diverse workforce and student population. For example, we consistently rank in the top three institutions nationally in our numbers of under-represented groups for our veterinary professional students.

These statistics, while impressive, do not measure what empowers our students, faculty, and staff. Equally important to a successful and diverse workforce is resiliency. Diversity is synergistic with resiliency; mirror images of each other. When we open ourselves to learn from others and listen to their experiences, we draw strength from their ideas and history. The characteristic of a resilient person is not easy to quantify, as it is often only revealed after adversity is introduced to their lives, shattering their plans and perceptions of the future.

Excellence as a Result of Habit

By Michael Lairmore

On March 5, 2018

In Dean's Perspectives

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle

The school has been recognized for the fourth year in a row as the #1 program in the world in veterinary science by QS World University Rankings. So how is excellence measured? It is my belief that the quality of any organization is built from the character, values, talent, and work ethics of its people. Without the habits of excellence brought to work each day by our faculty, staff, house officers, graduate students, and veterinary students, we would not be recognized as the global leader in veterinary medicine. While our buildings, laboratories, hospitals, and other resources are critical for us to do our work, we would be a far less effective organization if it were not for the quality of our people.

At the heart of what we do is the education of the next generation of veterinarians, research scientists, and veterinary specialists. Our educators work tirelessly to improve our curriculum, bringing outcome-driving, and adult-learning models to spark life-long learning as a habit in our trainees and students. The many hours our teachers and staff put into their lectures, teaching laboratories, notes, and course materials is paid back to them in the success of our graduates, who fill important jobs throughout the world in private practices, industry, and government. We seek to develop leaders in all facets of jobs that are filled by our alumni, and desire to reconnect with them as we delight in their successes.

Welcoming a New Year With a Focus on Wellness

By Michael Lairmore

On January 4, 2018

In Dean's Perspectives

“Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit – the realization that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of well-being.” —Greg Anderson

Dean Lairmore with his second granddaughter, Juliette, during the winter holidays.

The new year brings a sense of renewal, a chance to begin again, perhaps in a direction that sets our life toward a new course. Holiday breaks, often spent with family and friends, help refresh our bonds with those we love and remind us of who we are in spirit or how we started our life’s journey. As we focus on the future, it is also a time to reflect on the present and to consider what is important in our lives.

Our school has two major strategic planning efforts underway to help us plot our future course. We will soon launch a new strategic plan for our veterinary hospital to gain insight into how we lead the world in veterinary medicine, transforming the lives of animals and humans through compassionate, innovative care. We are also refreshing our current strategic plan to reflect and build on our accomplishments and lessons learned over the past five years.

Supporting Equine Health

By Michael Lairmore

On November 28, 2017

In Dean's Perspectives

“A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves – strong, powerful, beautiful – and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” –Pam Brown

Horses have played a key role in the history of California, as an early form of transportation and symbol of the West, to today’s equine athletes thrilling us with their power and grace. Horses touch the human soul with their spirit and beauty. Watching the recent Breeder’s Cup horse racing events held at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club racetrack in San Diego, I marveled at the power and strength of the horses as they thundered down the track. Jockeys in their bright colored jerseys, in rhythm with their rides, flashing by to the roar of the crowd.

Our school has an extensive history of supporting equine health, allowing people that love horses to project their dreams through these majestic animals. A state-of-the-art equine drug testing laboratory to protect the horse racing industry was the dream of the late Kenneth L. Maddy, a California legislator, avid horseman and supporter of veterinary education. He would be proud to know that the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, within the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, was recently recognized as one of only five labs by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) as an “IFHA Reference Laboratory.”

Leading the Way to the Future of Veterinary Medicine

By Michael Lairmore

On October 13, 2017

In Dean's Perspectives

“Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.”– Malala Yousafzai

Dr. Claudia Sonder leads a mini horse to safety in the aftermath of recent fires near Napa.

As a community, I know we all grieve the loss and devastation associated with the multitude of fires in northern California that our regional neighbors are experiencing. In times of natural disaster, we stand ready to assist the animal victims and their owners caught in the path of these fires. We have a number of activities already underway and resources available to respond to official county and state requests. We provide our assistance to address regional needs as we have always done in times of necessity.

A rendering of the exterior of the future Equine Performance Center.

This week we launch a new beginning for our school as we “lead the way” toward the future of veterinary medicine. Our plans and dreams for a new Veterinary Medical Center build upon the legacy of our past and the vision of our future. The need for these improvements has been amplified with this week’s fire disasters, as our facilities harbor those animals in need of our care and offer relief for our neighbors through our outreach programs. We seek to create the future, by building on the accomplishments and dreams of those that have come before us, building new trails in research discoveries that advance the health of animals, people, and our environment.