Volume 25 · Number 4 · Summer 2008
Giving
For the Love of Animals
(Photo: Don Preisler)
Commitment to animal health transforms the School of Veterinary Medicine.
Cancer. Kidney disease. A broken leg. Not long ago, these were death sentences for many animals.
Today, novel chemotherapy, dialysis, surgery and physical therapy procedures developed at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine can give animals with critical illnesses or injuries a new lease on life. Since it welcomed its first class 60 years ago, the school has shaped the field of veterinary medicine and improved the health and well-being of animals everywhere. And from the beginning, philanthropy has played a leading role in the school’s success. During the past decade alone, the school has received more than $144 million in gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations that have a strong commitment to animals and the people who care for them.
Perhaps the most visible effect of philanthropy can be seen in new facilities that have transformed the School of Veterinary Medicine physically and enhanced education, treatment and research. The school is in the home stretch of a 10-year capital initiative that, along with state and campus support, helped to fund five buildings in UC Davis’ burgeoning Health Sciences District. Nearly $26 million from donors contributed to the construction of the contemporary facilities, which have addressed accreditation issues and brought students and faculty together in a more collaborative setting.
“The School of Veterinary Medicine transformation can be credited to our generous individual, foundation and corporate donors,” said Dean Bennie Osburn. “We are grateful for the many visionary leaders who share our desire to improve the lives of animals and create a truly state-of-the-art academic, research and clinical environment.”
One building, the Center for Companion Animal Health, was funded entirely by charitable contributions — a rare feat for capital projects and a first for UC Davis. The center houses the school’s pioneering cancer and genetics laboratories, a chemotherapy clinic, a pharmacy and a linear accelerator that provides radiation treatment for both small and large animals.
The final step of the school’s capital initiative is the Veterinary Medicine IIIB building, which will accommodate programs in areas such as pet nutrition, ecosystem health and infectious diseases. A major effort is under way to raise the remaining $3.5 million to complete this building.
The positive impact that philanthropic support has had on the school extends well beyond the funding of buildings. In the past 10 years alone, donors have contributed $30.5 million for student support to ease the tuition burden and provide more than 3,200 scholarship awards.
Gifts have also helped launch innovative programs like the Koret Shelter Medicine Program. With the support of the Koret Foundation of San Francisco and other donors the shelter medicine program is making critical advancements in preventive medicine and disease management in animal shelters across the country.
In addition, researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine depend on philanthropic support for much of their work. More than $60 million in charitable gifts over the past decade have funded studies in genetics, orthopedics and cancer, among other areas, with results that have benefited animals and sometimes even extended to human health. Donors have also supported general medicine and surgery research, leading to new techniques and protocols that minimize trauma and accelerate recovery.
At the core of the school’s philanthropic success is the commitment of donors to animal health and well-being. Some are looking to the school’s researchers to find better treatments and cures for the diseases and conditions that affect their animals. Many are grateful clients who have developed longstanding, personal connections with the veterinarians who have cared for their beloved pets.
Other donors are alumni and emeriti faculty who remain dedicated to the school. Alumnus Jerry Kaneko helped launch a class of ’56 fundraising effort to support Gladys Valley Hall, the new instructional heart of the school. An emeritus professor who taught clinical pathology for 37 years, Kaneko has witnessed firsthand how philanthropy has transformed the school. He also understands its origins: “The new facilities were made possible by people with a great love of animals,” he said.
New UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Facilities:
Ira M. “Gary” Gourley
Clinical Teaching Center
Opened in 2002
Large- and small-animal student surgery and animal quarters, 90-seat classroom and other teaching space. Named after Gary Gourley, a school professor and surgeon who brought revolutionary changes to veterinary medicine.
Cost: $16.4 million, $6.8 million funded by private donations
Veterinary Medicine IIIA
Opened 2007
Teaching and research facility with multi-purpose teaching laboratories, J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory and facilities for anatomy instruction and clinical necropsy.
Cost: $77.4 million, funded by the State of California
Claire Giannini Hoffman Equine
Athletic Performance Laboratory
Opened in 2005
Research laboratory with both research and clinical treadmills. Named after the late Claire Giannini Hoffman, a horse lover who provided major philanthropic support to the school.
Cost: $4.2 million, $2.7 million funded by private donations
Veterinary Medicine IIIB
Scheduled completion in 2011
Research and
administrative space.
Cost: $92.7 million,
$12 million funded by private donations
Gladys Valley Hall
Opened 2006
Classrooms, auditoriums, seminar rooms and student space. Named after the late Gladys Valley, whose family foundation — the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation — has provided major philanthropic support to the school.
Cost: $27 million, $2.5 million funded by private donations
Center for Companion Animal Health
Opened in 2004
Clinical, research and teaching facility housing a comprehensive cancer center, pharmacy, a physical therapy unit, and laboratories for oncology and genetics.
Cost: $16.4 million, funded entirely by private donations
To find out more about the Veterinary Medicine IIIB building initiative or other areas to support at the School of Veterinary Medicine, contact Kelly Nimtz, assistant dean of development, at (530) 752-7024 or kjnimtz@ucdavis.edu.