 
THE AVMA:  
150 YEARS of EDUCATION, SCIENCE, and SERVICE  
Chapter 2

by  
American Veterinary Medical Association

Smashwords Edition
Published on Smashwords by:  
American Veterinary Medical Association  
1931 N. Meacham Road  
Schaumburg, IL 60173

The AVMA: 150 Years of Education, Science, and Service  
Chapter 2  
Copyright 2012 by American Veterinary Medical Association

ISBN 978-1-882691-25-8

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

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CONTENTS

[Chapter 2:  
A CALL TO SERVICE: Governance](tmp_670c5bbcd508bb3b5ae56702a3940252_a9k9Q6.ch.fixed.fc.tidied.stylehacked.xfixed_split_003.html#ch02)
Chapter 2  
A CALL TO SERVICE

Kurt Matushek

In 2012, the American Veterinary Medical Association boasted more than 84,000 members, including more than 80 percent of all veterinarians in the United States. Quite a change from the small group of men who came together in 1863 to form the United States Veterinary Medical Association, now the AVMA. Although many factors have contributed to the remarkable growth of the past 150 years, unquestionably one of the most important has been the dedication of the thousands of members who have volunteered their time in service to the Association. Understanding how the governance of the AVMA has changed over the years helps us not only learn about the history of the Association but also prepare for the future.
Charter Members of the United States Veterinary Medical Association  
Taken from "The American Veterinary Profession," by J.F. Smithcors

NEW YORK

W.H. Banister  
C.H. Birney  
Louis Brandt  
John F. Budd  
Charles Burden  
John Busteed  
A.S. Copeman  
R.H. Curtis  
A. Large  
A. Liautard  
W.T. McCoun  
James Mulligan  
E. Nostrand

MASSACHUSETTS

R. Farley  
O.H. Flagg  
James Penniman  
W. Saunders  
J.H. Stickney  
E.F. Thayer  
C.M. Wood  
Robert Wood

PENNSYLVANIA

J.C. Essenwein  
R. McClure  
G. Mellor  
I. Michener  
E.H. Palmer

NEW JERSEY

A.C. Budd  
T. Cooper  
Jacob Dilts  
J.C. Higgins  
S. Humphrey  
R. Jennings  
W.R. Mankin  
A. Philips  
Jacob Philips  
J.F. Walton

MAINE

E.F. Ripley

OHIO

G.W. Bowler

DELAWARE

W.A. Wisdom
THE FIRST CONSTITUTION

The broad outlines of the events that led up to the formation of the USVMA are generally well-known. In March of 1863, Robert Jennings proposed during a meeting of the American Veterinary Association in Philadelphia that a convention of veterinary surgeons be called for the purposes of forming a national veterinary association. Although the idea of a national association had been around for several years, this time it elicited a more favorable response. Concerns were expressed, however, both that the qualifications for membership not be so rigid as to exclude all self-educated practitioners, leaving the proposed association to be dominated by graduates of the European colleges of veterinary medicine, and that the qualifications not be so loose as to allow for the admission of quacks.

In April of 1863, the AVA again met to consider the proposal, passed a resolution that the meeting be held in June of that year, and appointed a local organizing committee. Notices of the meeting were published in The New York Times on June 7 and 8 that read "To Veterinary Surgeons. There will be a meeting of veterinary surgeons at the Astor House on the 9th of June, at 2 o'clock P.M. All interested in the advancement of veterinary science are invited to attend." The men met as scheduled at the Astor Hotel in New York City on June 9 and 10, 1863.

During the first day's meeting, a committee headed by Josiah Stickney was selected to draft a constitution and bylaws. The document was read during the next day's meeting and adopted, and new officers were elected. Josiah Stickney, a London graduate, was elected president; Alexandre Liautard, a graduate of Toulouse, was elected recording secretary; and A.S. Copeman, a self-educated practitioner, was elected treasurer.

According to notes from Robert Jennings from the organizational meeting, there was considerable discussion regarding the name of the new association, but no information is available on the details of those discussions. Most likely, "United States" was chosen, instead of "American" because an American Veterinary Association had been established in Philadelphia some years before. J.F. Smithcors, in his 1963 history "The American Veterinary Profession," points out, however, that the initial meeting was held during the Civil War and that this may have played a role in the naming of the association, in that "American" would have included the Confederate States of America. Smithcors cautions that this is only conjecture. Isaiah Michener of Pennsylvania later claimed the he was the one who suggested the name that was finally chosen.

According to Smithcors, the charter members of the USVMA consisted of 39 men from seven states. From various notes, it is apparent that others were present at the organizational meeting. It is not clear why they were not included as charter members. In accordance with the new constitution and bylaws, a vice president was elected from each of the seven states represented among the charter members; the individuals selected were R.H. Curtis, W. Saunders, R. McClure, Robert Jennings, E.F. Ripley, G.W. Bowler, and W.A. Wisdom. In addition, W.T. McCoun, Robert Wood, Isaiah Michener, and J.F. Walton were selected as corresponding secretaries, and A. Large, E.F. Thayer, J.C. Essenwein, E.H. Palmer, Jacob Dilts, and C.M. Wood were elected as censors.

Two aspects of the original USVMA Constitution and Bylaws stand out. The first is that the members of the Comitia Minora were charged with examining applicants to determine whether they were qualified, before allowing them to become members of the Association. During the 1864 meeting, for example, P.J. Curran Penny and T.B. Raynor presented their credentials and were examined by the Board of Censors. Penny passed his examinations in anatomy (presented by A. Large), physiology (presented by E.F. Thayer), and the theory and practice of medicine (presented by C.M. Wood) and was accepted as a member, but Raynor apparently refused to answer any questions, claiming that he had a right to be a member because of his work in helping to organize the Association, and was refused. Although requiring prospective members to pass an examination seems strange today, it made sense at the time, when so many supposed practitioners were little more than charlatans and quacks, with no training and little knowledge of veterinary medicine.

The second interesting aspect of the original constitution and bylaws was that the president of the United States—Abraham Lincoln at the time of the organizational meeting—was an ex officio honorary member of the Association.

EARLY CHANGES

Remarkably, particularly given that the original constitution and bylaws were written in a single evening, relatively few changes were made to the organization of the USVMA during its early years, although a revision of the constitution was adopted in 1867. One change that year was the decision to select a single vice president rather than the multiple vice presidents from the states represented in the Association. William Wisdom, who had been serving as one of the vice presidents since the founding of the USVMA, was selected to fill that role.

During the 1870 meeting, the officers of the previous year were re-elected, setting a precedent that lasted until about the mid-1890s. And, in 1884, the number of censors elected each year was increased from five to seven. This change was presumably in response to concerns that the USVMA did not, in fact, represent the veterinary profession in the entire country and that veterinarians in what were then the "Western" states were dissatisfied. One of the censors elected in 1884 was John Meyer Sr. of Cincinnati; another was W.J. Crowley of St. Louis.

A revised constitution, which had apparently been in preparation for some time, was adopted at the annual meeting in 1889. Two of the most important changes were the decisions to hold a single meeting each year, rather than the twice-yearly meetings that had been held up to that time, and to make the Board of Censors an appointed, rather than an elected, body.

A page from the January 1897 issue of the American Veterinary Revie

A major step was taken in 1892 with the unanimous adoption of an amendment requiring that any future applicant for membership in the USVMA "shall be a graduate of a regularly organized and recognized veterinary school, which shall have a curriculum of at least three years, of six months each, specially devoted to the study of veterinary science, and whose corps of instructors shall contain at least four veterinarians." With the USVMA having become the accepted representative body of the veterinary profession in the United States, this change went a long way to helping establish a uniform standard for the education of veterinarians in the country.

An early rival of the American Veterinary Review, the U.S. Veterinary Journal, ceased publication after only two years.

The following year, Walter Williams, 1892-1893 USVMA president, noted that, for the first time in the history of the Association, many applicants were refused admittance. He explained that the new three-year educational requirement excluded from membership the graduates of many of the veterinary colleges operating at that time and extolled the Association's move to impose a higher educational standard.

In 1894, the USVMA decided to reinstate the earlier practice of electing multiple vice presidents, with representatives to be selected from the Eastern, Central, and Western segments of the profession.

A NEW NAME

In 1897, AVMA President Frederick Osgood, citing the close professional and economic union between veterinarians in the United States and their counterparts in Canada, suggested that the name of the Association be changed to the National Veterinary Association of North America. A.W. Clement introduced a resolution calling instead for adoption of the name American Veterinary Medical Association, which was tabled that year. The following year, however, a recommendation to adopt the AVMA name was unanimously accepted.

Oscar V. Brumley, elected first AVMA president-elect, 1936.

The change from USVMA to AVMA reflected, at least in part, the fact that the Association had extended its scope beyond the United States to include Canada. In further recognition of this, six Canadians joined the AVMA the year after the name change, more than doubling the Canadian membership, and Fred Torrance of Winnipeg was elected vice president. Also, the 1903 AVMA Annual Meeting was held in Ottawa, Ontario, and John G. Rutherford, 1908-1909 AVMA president, was from Canada.

INCORPORATION

As early as 1869, discussions were held on the benefits of incorporating the new Association. A committee was appointed that year to study the advisability of petitioning Congress for a charter of incorporation. Three years later, the committee reported that on the basis of legal advice it had received, pursuing a charter would be inadvisable.

It appears that several important figures in the Association objected to incorporating it, but their specific reasons for doing so have largely been lost. One argument that was advanced was that incorporating the Association would allow individuals to sue it. Without incorporation, however, individual officers of the Association could be, and were, sued over matters for which they themselves were not responsible. In addition, without incorporation, another group could potentially assume the Association's name, depriving the original group of the right to use its own name.

The matter of incorporation was discussed again in 1893 but was again tabled. The following year, C.P. Lyman reported that an act of incorporation for the USVMA had been presented to Congress through Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, but the bill apparently died in committee.

The issue was apparently dropped after that until 1915, when the Executive Committee recommended that the Association pursue incorporation, with AVMA Secretary Nelson Mayo pointing out that establishment of a journal—which the Association had been without since 1881—required development of a definite business organization and that incorporation was needed to allow the Association to collect outstanding bills. The committee's recommendation was unanimously passed, and the Association was finally incorporated in 1917 under the laws of Illinois.

•

There really is no provision, legally, for a presiding officer, but, as I am in the habit of doing various and sundry odd jobs, I have taken it upon myself to call this meeting to order.

—H. Preston Hoskins,  
AVMA secretary-editor,  
opening the inaugural meeting of the AVMA House of Representatives
THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES

In 1882, a new journal, the United States Veterinary Journal, made its appearance. Although ostensibly edited by A.H. Baker, the co-founder of the Chicago Veterinary College, the real force behind the new journal apparently was T.E. Daniels, who had conceived the idea of organizing the veterinary profession in the United States, with his journal serving as the official organ.

Daniels' plan did have one strong point. His national association was to be governed by delegates chosen by the state veterinary medical associations, and Daniels had already been successful in getting state associations organized in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York (in competition with the existing state society), and Ohio. Daniels' plan did not come to fruition, however, and the United States Veterinary Journal ceased publication in 1884.

In 1897, F.H. Osgood discussed the undesirable aspects of electing the officers of the Association by a majority vote of those members present at the annual meeting, pointing out that members who wished to vote for the Association's officers had, in effect, to pay for the privilege, because of the costs associated with traveling to the convention and closing their practices while attending. Osgood suggested that voting rights be vested in delegates from the constituent associations, so that the will of the membership could not be subverted by members from the region where the meeting was held. Osgood's suggestion did not go forward at that time.

Similarly, several changes in the structure and operation of the Association were discussed during the 50th anniversary meeting in 1913, including a recommendation for creation of a House of Delegates that would be the representative body of the constituent associations and would elect the officers of the Association. However, the recommendation was not adopted.

Nearly 20 years later, the AVMA Executive Board appointed a Special Committee on Affiliation of State and Provincial Associations with the AVMA to examine the relationship between the AVMA and the various state and provincial associations. During a meeting of the Executive Board in December 1930, the committee presented an outline of a plan for the board's consideration that included a recommendation to "Create a new body to be known as the 'House of Representatives' which shall transact the business of the Association heretofore transacted at the general business sessions, including receiving and acting upon recommendations of the Executive Board."

The new body was to be made up of representatives chosen by the various state and provincial associations, and it would exercise all the duties and assume all the powers delegated to the active members under the current constitution and bylaws, with the exception of electing the president, vice presidents, treasurer, and Executive Board members. The proposal was discussed during the 1931 annual meeting, along with a revision to provide voting power on the basis of the number of AVMA members residing in the state or province, and the Executive Board undertook the task of drafting the necessary rules and regulations to put the proposal into effect.

The House of Representatives met officially for the first time during the 1934 meeting in New York City. H. Preston Hoskins, AVMA secretary-editor, opened the meeting, commenting, "There really is no provision, legally, for a presiding officer, but, as I am in the habit of doing various and sundry odd jobs, I have taken it upon myself to call this meeting to order." Forty-one states were listed on the roll, of which 34 had sent a representative. Of the remaining seven states, six had not yet become affiliated with the AVMA, and the seventh, Idaho, had not yet formed a state association.

During the first meeting of the House, Thomas Munce, the representative from Pennsylvania, was chosen to chair the meeting, in recognition of his work over the preceding several years to have the House of Representatives established. Subsequently during the meeting, however, the Executive Board pointed out that, with the current method for selecting a chair, a great deal of valuable time would be lost at each meeting simply getting organized, and recommended that the constitution and bylaws be amended to name the AVMA president the ex officio chair of the House of Representatives. This recommendation was accepted.

There was also extensive discussion during this meeting regarding changes to the method for electing the AVMA president. In its report to the House, the Executive Board recommended that the constitution and bylaws be amended to allow the House to nominate three candidates for president each year, with the final selection being done by a mail ballot of the membership. This was consistent with a suggestion that had been made several times previously that the president be elected by a mail ballot, in the same way that members of the Executive Board were elected at that time. This recommendation was not adopted, but the wisdom of electing the president a year before that individual took office became apparent, and the following year, an amendment was approved to provide for a president-elect to be elected by the members in attendance at the annual meeting. Oscar V. Brumley was chosen as the first AVMA president-elect in 1936.

In 1935, Secretary Hoskins reported that 47 state associations had affiliated with the AVMA, with Idaho being the lone exception, as it still did not have a state association. By the next year, all 48 states were listed on the roll for the House of Representatives, and in 1937, a representative from the District of Columbia was added to the roll. Also in 1936, a motion was brought to provide the Army Veterinary Corps representation in the House of Representatives. The motion was tabled that year but approved the following year. Similarly, in 1938, a motion was approved to provide representation for the Bureau of Animal Industry, bringing the number of organizations represented in the House to 51 (In 1944, in recognition of the fact that the National Association of Bureau of Animal Industry Veterinarians had changed its name, this was updated to the National Association of Federal Veterinarians).

Extensive revisions to the constitution and bylaws were approved by the House of Representatives in 1940. Among other changes the House approved was one that "State, territorial and provincial veterinary associations which have or may hereafter become organized in conformity with the general plan of the American Veterinary Medical Association shall be recognized upon application as constituent or affiliated organizations. ...." The House went on to clarify that "state association" meant the principal veterinary organization of any state whose membership was restricted to graduates of recognized veterinary colleges, "territorial association" applied to such organizations of any of the territorial possessions of the United States, and "provincial association" applied in the same manner to the Canadian provinces.

The number of organizations represented in the House grew steadily after this time, so that by the 1948 meeting, the roll listed 59 organizations: the 48 states; the District of Columbia, Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, and Cuba; the Army and National Association of Federal Veterinarians; and Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan (Nova Scotia and Quebec were added in 1949). A proposed amendment to the bylaws was adopted that year, giving the president-elect, rather than the president, the duty of presiding at all sessions of the House of Representatives and giving the president-elect the opportunity, if he so desired, of presenting to the House his program for the coming year.

Hawaii and Alaska were both admitted to the Union in 1959. However, Hawaii was first represented in the House of Representatives in 1954, when the Hawaii Territorial VMA was formally recognized as a constituent organization of the AVMA. Coincidentally, this was also the year that the AVMA adopted the Veterinarian's Oath.

The AVMA House of Delegates during the AVMA's 100th annual meeting in 1963

1997 – 1998 Student AVMA officers celebrating after SAVMA was granted a vote in the AVMA House of Delegates. From left: Jonathan Goodwin, Kelly Gray, Jacob Johnson, and Chrysa Balas

In 1956, the House of Representatives again began discussions on revising the AVMA Constitution and Bylaws. The Executive Board had appointed a Committee on Revision of the Constitution and Bylaws and instructed it to suggest revisions that would clarify the intent of those sections that were currently not well-understood; eliminate areas of conflict or contradiction between sections; delete unnecessary, redundant, and obsolete sections; and incorporate recent suggestions to improve the structure and organization of the AVMA.

The following year, the Executive Board and Advisory Committee of the House presented a complete revision of the documents, and the AVMA adopted its new constitution and bylaws in 1958. Among the changes were provisions to elect a single vice president, to change the name of the House of Representatives to the House of Delegates, and to establish reference committees of the House of Delegates.

Apparently, part of the impetus for the change in name of the House was the fact that other large professional associations at that time used the term "delegate" or "house of delegates" to indicate the representatives of their constituent organizations. Raymond Snyder, the representative from Pennsylvania, also pointed out that "The only organization that uses 'House of Representatives' is the Congress, that we know of at the present time," and that when AVMA representatives, particularly from the Washington office, had to appear before congressional committees, it was necessary to specify that they were discussing the AVMA House of Representatives, to prevent any confusion.

Among the other changes incorporated in the new constitution and bylaws were provisions for more equitable Executive Board districts, for a new method for determining voting power of the constituent associations, and for replacement of numerous committees with six councils (the Judicial Council, Council on Education, Council on Research, Council on Veterinary Service, Council on Biological and Therapeutic Agents, and Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine).

•

The only organization that uses 'House of Representatives' is the Congress, that we know of at the present time.

—Raymond Snyder,  
calling for a change in name from House of Representatives to House of Delegates

•

As of the 1961 annual meeting, Cuba was no longer listed among the organizations represented in the House of Delegates. In 1963, however, a motion was passed to accept the Alaska VMA's application as a constituent association of the AVMA.

That same year, separate resolutions were submitted by the College of Veterinary Surgeons of the Province of Quebec, British Columbia VMA, New Brunswick VMA, Manitoba VMA, Ontario VMA, Nova Scotia VMA, Prince Edward Island VMA, and Saskatchewan VMA, asking that appropriate changes to the AVMA Constitution and Bylaws be made to withdraw the right of the various Canadian provincial associations to have representation in the House of Delegates and to withdraw representation on the Executive Board from District 12, which covered the Canadian provinces. The resolutions stated that, although Canadian veterinarians were aware of the benefits that they had received through their participation in the AVMA, the establishment of the Canadian VMA 15 years previously had left many Canadian veterinarians in the position of supporting two national associations with similar goals and aims. The resolutions further suggested that provisions be made in the AVMA Bylaws for a form of associate membership open to individuals residing outside the United States and its territories.

The resolutions were carried, with the result that at the 1964 meeting, only 55 organizations were represented in the newly constituted House of Delegates: all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and the National Association of Federal Veterinarians, the Air Force, and the Army. However, the House was soon to grow again.

At the 1968 meeting, the AVMA considered the question of the admission of special-interest groups to the House of Delegates. Noting that the AVMA Constitution provided that "The House of Delegates shall be composed of delegates selected by the constituent organizations and by such other groups of veterinarians which the Executive Board, with the approval of the House of Delegates, shall deem entitled to representation. ...," the Executive Board's Committee on Policy was tasked with developing guidelines for the admission of such groups. The committee recommended that groups be considered if the voting membership of the group were limited to AVMA members, the voting membership of the group exceeded 200, and the constitution and bylaws of the group were not in conflict with those of the AVMA. The committee also recommended that these groups be entitled to two votes in the House of Delegates.

The House of Delegates accepted the Committee on Policy's recommendations during the 1968 HOD session, and the Industrial Veterinarians Association and American Association of Bovine Practitioners were admitted to the House that year. They were followed by the American Animal Hospital Association in 1969, the American Association of Equine Practitioners in 1970, the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians in 1971, and the American Association of Swine Practitioners and American Society for Laboratory Animal Practitioners in 1972. In 1983, the House approved an amendment to consolidate representation for all AVMA members who were in the uniformed services, including the Army, Air Force, and Public Health Service, under the Uniformed Services of the United States.

Early photograph of Dr. Bonnie Beaver, the second woman to serve as AVMA president (2004 – 2005) and Dr. Bobbye Chancellor, the first woman to serve as AVMA vice president (1977 – 1979).

In 1974, the president and secretary of the Student AVMA were admitted to the House as ex officio members without the right to vote (this was changed to the president and president-elect of the Student AVMA in 1981). Two years later, the AVMA approved a resolution to provide the Student AVMA with voting privileges in the House of Delegates, and an amendment to the constitution implementing this resolution was introduced the following year. The House considered but did not adopt the proposed amendment during its 1978 meeting, nor did it adopt a 1980 resolution from the American Animal Hospital Association to provide full voting rights to the Student AVMA. It wasn't until 1997 that the AVMA gave the Student AVMA voting privileges, following introduction of an amendment to the constitution in 1996 and passage the following year.

One other major addition to the House of Delegates occurred in the mid- to late 1990s. In 1995, the House Advisory Committee submitted a resolution proposing the creation of a resource panel within the House that would consist of the ranking veterinarian from each of various federal agencies and certain other national organizations. The resolution was referred back for rewording to the committee, which, the following year, submitted a new resolution suggesting that eight federal agencies and national veterinary organizations be provided representation in the House of Delegates. The House also did not adopt this resolution.

Finally, the House voted in favor of a 1997 resolution calling for the establishment of seats for federal and state regulatory and public health–control agencies and related national veterinary organizations, but rescinded it the next year in favor of a resolution to establish a seven-member, nonvoting advisory panel. It would consist of representatives from the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Assembly of Chief Livestock Health Officials, National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, and American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. The Department of Homeland Security was added to the advisory panel in 2008, and the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians was added in 2009. This panel was first seated with the House of Delegates in 1999.

In 1996, the House of Delegates approved a resolution calling for the AVMA to conduct a second working session each year of the full House, to be held in conjunction with the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference, and in 1997, enabling amendments to the constitution and bylaws were introduced. That same year, however, the House approved rescinding the 1996 resolution, and the amendments were not considered. Although it was not considered an official session, an informational assembly of the House of Delegates was held in January 1998, and that June, the Executive Board approved holding an informational assembly each year, immediately before or after the leadership conference.

During the House's 2006 annual meeting, following adoption of an amended and restated AVMA Bylaws to replace the existing constitution and bylaws, House Advisory Committee Chair John de Jong called for a special session of the House to be held in conjunction with the 2007 Veterinary Leadership Conference for the purpose of adopting a revised House of Delegates Manual. In July 2007, the House of Delegates approved a bylaws amendment to hold a regular winter session in conjunction with the leadership conference. With the 2008 winter session, therefore, the House reinstituted the original plan from 150 years prior for holding twice-annual meetings of the Association.

EXECUTIVE BOARD

In the original constitution and bylaws adopted by the USVMA, the officers of the association were identified as the president, vice presidents, recording secretary, corresponding secretary, and treasurer. All the officers were to be elected by ballot at the annual meeting and to serve a one-year term. In addition, the AVMA appointed each year a six-member Board of Censors that was responsible for examining applicants for membership in the Association. Together, the officers of the Association and six censors constituted the Comitia Minora.

As stated in the USVMA Constitution and Bylaws, the Comitia Minora was responsible for making the necessary arrangements for the meetings of the Association, examining reports of breaches of the precepts of medical ethics and reporting its findings to the Association, and performing such other duties as the Association directed. Also, all communications, memoirs, and essays on medical subjects that were read before, and accepted by, the Association were submitted to the Comitia Minora for its examination to determine whether they should be published.

The 1896-1897 Association year was the last year of the Comitia Minora, after which it was replaced by an Executive Committee that consisted of seven appointed members and, as ex officio members, the six officers—the president, three vice presidents, secretary, and treasurer.

In his presidential address during the 1916 annual meeting in Detroit, R.A. Archibald called for a reorganization of the Association, stating that the present methods of conducting the business affairs of the Association were "entirely inadequate to handle the enormous amount of business that is forced upon us as the result of rapid growth, increased membership and responsibilities." That year, the Committee on Reorganization presented a new constitution and bylaws that, among other things, dissolved the Executive Committee and created an Executive Board.

Under the new constitution and bylaws, the officers of the Association consisted of the president, five vice presidents, the secretary, the treasurer, and members of the Executive Board. The Executive Board comprised six members: one from each of five board districts and a member at large. While the president, vice presidents, secretary, and treasurer were elected during the annual meeting and served one-year terms, the board members were elected to five-year terms.

The Executive Board was designated as the administrative body of the Association. Its duties included evaluating the eligibility of candidates for membership in the Association and reporting its recommendations to the Association, acting on recommendations of the president of the Association and other recommendations referred to it by the Association, providing a recommendation each year regarding the selection of an editor and business manager for the JAVMA, arranging for an annual audit of the accounts of the JAVMA, and hearing complaints filed in writing relative to the improper conduct of any member.

Maps illustrating the phased-in restructuring plan for Executive Board districts approved in 2001

The five Executive Board districts created in 1916 were as follows:

District 1: Canada.

District 2: Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, the New England states, New Jersey, and Delaware.

District 3: Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Cuba, and South America.

District 4: Alaska, Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, the Philippines, and Hawaii.

District 5: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico, and Central America.

Those attending the annual meeting elected the at-large member of the Executive Board by ballot. Board members representing the five districts were voted on by mail ballot sent to each AVMA member in the district. Six months prior to the election, the Association secretary would send a letter to each member in the district asking for nominations. The secretary made a list of the five members who received the most nominations, and their names were included on the ballot sent to members in the district.

A major impetus for the 1916 reorganization was the desire to make the Association into a truly national body, with the development of Executive Board districts as a way to ensure representation from all geographic districts. It quickly became apparent, however, that the original five districts were inadequate, and in 1918, District 2 was divided into two parts, because it contained such a large number of members. With this change, District 2 consisted of the six New England states, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and a new district consisting of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin was created. This was just the first of many changes to the Executive Board districts over the ensuing years.

In 1939, the AVMA House of Representatives approved a recommendation to create a Board of Governors consisting of the president, president-elect, and chair of the Executive Board, which would have executive authority and supervision of the central office of the Association. The Board of Governors was responsible to the Executive Board and provided it with a written report at each of its meetings.

With the 1940 revision of the AVMA Constitution and Bylaws, there were 10 Executive Board districts, and the Executive Board consisted of one member from each district, a member at large, the president of the Association, and the president-elect. In addition, this revision of the constitution and bylaws gave the Board of Governors charge of the administrative affairs of the Association between the regular meetings of the Executive Board.

The 1958 revision of the constitution and bylaws established 12 Executive Board districts, and the board consisted of one member from each district, the president, president-elect, and immediate past president. When the Canadian provincial associations withdrew from the AVMA in 1963, however, the 12th district was dropped. In 1967, the bylaws were amended to add the vice president and treasurer to the Executive Board, bringing its membership to 16 (the treasurer was made a nonvoting member of the board in 1981).

In 1973, a bylaws amendment was proposed that would have reduced the number of Executive Board districts to 10 and reapportioned many of the Western districts. Ultimately, this was disapproved, and in 1975, the House of Delegates approved a resolution submitted by the Maryland VMA to retain the 11 existing districts. A 1985 bylaws amendment to increase the number of districts to 12 was also defeated. Similarly, the House voted down changes to the constitution and bylaws proposed in 1988 that would have decreased the number of districts to six but would have resulted in election of two board members from each district.

In 1989, the House of Delegates adopted a resolution submitted by the Texas and California VMAs recommending retention of the 11 Executive Board districts, but with reapportionment, so that District 8 would consist only of Texas, and District 10 only of California. When the bylaws amendment implementing these changes was brought forward the following year, however, the House did not approve it.

The most recent effort to realign the Executive Board districts began in 2000, when President-elect James E. Nave, during his address to the House of Delegates, called for a change to the structure of the districts. Pointing out that, in 1987, the House had debated whether it wanted the districts to have equal numbers of AVMA members or equal numbers of states, he went on to state that the current structure did not pass either test. He recommended that the AVMA keep the 11-district structure but alter the boundaries of the districts so that each would contain approximately equal numbers of AVMA members.

At its meeting that November, the Executive Board approved a plan put forward by Immediate Past President Leonard F. Seda to adopt a phased-in restructuring plan that would begin in July 2002 and be completed in July 2006. Criteria that the board considered in determining which districts should be restructured included the current number of AVMA members, the number of states, the number of veterinary schools, and the expected future growth in AVMA members. In addition, the board took into account geographic considerations, while trying to minimize the amount of disruption and allow current board members to serve out their terms. At its annual session in 2001, the House of Delegates approved the restructuring plan.

Two changes to the Executive Board have been made in recent years. With the adoption of the amended and restated AVMA Bylaws in 2006, the chair of the House Advisory Committee was added as an invited participant for all Executive Board meetings, along with the treasurer, executive vice president, and assistant executive vice president. During its January 2010 meeting, the House of Delegates approved a bylaws amendment that added the president of the Student AVMA as an invited participant at all Executive Board meetings.

Executive Board members meet at AVMA headquarters in Schaumburg.

GOVERNANCE TODAY

Despite the many changes throughout the years, the current AVMA governance, with the notable exception of the House of Delegates, largely reflects the structure established during that initial organizational meeting in 1863. The difference, of course, is that the governance structure has grown well beyond those initial few dozen members to encompass an interlocking assembly of officers, Executive Board, House of Delegates, councils, committees, and task forces.

Officers—As stated in the AVMA Bylaws, the officers of the Association are the president, president-elect, vice president, treasurer, immediate past president, Executive Board chair, Executive Board vice chair, executive vice president, and assistant executive vice president. The House of Delegates elects the president-elect and vice president at its annual meeting each year. The president is the principal elected officer of the Association and, in general, supervises the affairs of the Association, subject to the direction and control of the Executive Board. The president serves a one-year term from one annual meeting to the next and automatically assumes the office of immediate past president at the end of the presidential term. The immediate past president performs such duties as assigned by the president and Executive Board. The president-elect assists the president and substitutes for the president when required. The president-elect automatically assumes the office of president at the end of the one-year president-elect term. The vice president serves a single two-year term as the official liaison to the Student AVMA and the student chapters of the AVMA.

The treasurer, Executive Board chair, Executive Board vice chair, executive vice president, and assistant executive vice president are elected annually by the Executive Board. The treasurer is the principal accounting and financial officer of the Association and is responsible for maintaining the books of account; the treasurer can serve a maximum of six consecutive one-year terms. The executive vice president is the chief executive officer, is responsible for the administration and day-to-day management of the Association, and has control over the employment and termination of the staff. The assistant executive vice president assists the executive vice president.

Executive Board—The Executive Board consists of 15 members: the president, president-elect, immediate past president, vice president, and 11 district directors. The treasurer, chair of the House Advisory Committee, president of the Student AVMA, executive vice president, and assistant executive vice president are invited to attend and participate, without a vote, in all meetings of the Executive Board. The board manages the affairs of the Association; supervises, controls, and directs the Association; determines policies, within the limits of the AVMA Bylaws; actively promotes the AVMA's purposes; and has discretion over disbursement of the Association's funds. In addition, the board acts for, or on behalf of, the House of Delegates between its sessions.

The Board of Governors is a standing committee of the Executive Board and consists of the president, president-elect, and Executive Board chair. The Board of Governors has the authority to perform the business and functions of the Association between meetings of the Executive Board.

House of Delegates—The House of Delegates is the principal body within the Association responsible for establishing policy and providing direction for matters relating to veterinary medicine, and is the representative body of the principal and constituent allied veterinary organizations of the Association. Its responsibilities include, in part, approving changes to the Association's articles of incorporation; reviewing and voting on proposed amendments to the AVMA Bylaws; approving changes to the Veterinarian's Oath; voting on resolutions brought before it; participating in the Association's strategic planning; electing the president-elect, vice president, and, when necessary, president; and electing members of the House Advisory Committee and the AVMA councils.

The House of Delegates consists of a delegate and alternate delegate from each of the principal veterinary organizations, each of the constituent allied veterinary organizations, the Uniformed Services Organization, and the Student AVMA. In addition, all of the officers of the Association and members of the Executive Board are ex officio members of the House of Delegates, without the right to vote.

Delegates discuss the governance structure of the AVMA during the 2011 annual session in St. Louis.

The principal veterinary organizations are the various organizations representing each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The constituent allied veterinary organizations are organizations of veterinarians with specific vocational interests allied to the interests of the Association that meet certain requirements for representation in the House. Currently, 14 organizations are recognized as constituent allied veterinary organizations. The Uniformed Services Organization represents members of the Association who serve in the uniformed services of the United States, including the Army, Air Force, and Public Health Service.

The House Advisory Committee is a standing committee of the House of Delegates that consists of seven delegates or alternate delegates elected by the HOD for three-year terms. The committee acts in a leadership capacity to the House on matters referred to the HOD reference committees; acts as the bylaws committee for the House; and reviews and approves the credentials of candidates for president-elect, vice president, councils, the House Advisory Committee, and, when necessary, the president.

The seven House reference committees consider and discuss reports and resolutions submitted for consideration at each session of the House prior to final action by the delegates.

In 2012, the New Jersey VMA elected to not send delegates to the winter session of the AVMA House of Delegates, in an effort to emphasize questions about the role of the HOD.

Councils—The six standing councils—the Judicial Council, Council on Education, Council on Research, Council on Veterinary Service, Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, and Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine—identified in the bylaws are advisory to the Executive Board. The House of Delegates elects members of the councils.

The Judicial Council investigates allegations of unethical conduct by AVMA members on behalf of the Association and takes disciplinary action as necessary. It also advises on questions involving veterinary medical ethics and interpretation of the AVMA Bylaws.

The Council on Education recommends standards for veterinary medical education and evaluates and accredits colleges and schools of veterinary medicine. The council is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the official accrediting body for veterinary institutions in the United States. The council acts independently in making its accreditation decisions. It also reviews the actions of the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates, Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities, and American Board of Veterinary Specialties.

The Council on Research promotes the highest standards for veterinary medical research, assists in communicating the importance of research to the public, and advocates for the importance of research at veterinary teaching institutions and for advanced research education and training. It also is involved in identifying strategies and alliances for advancing funding of veterinary research.

The Council on Veterinary Service works to develop better ways to deliver high-quality professional veterinary services to the public and represents private practitioners' interests in the profession, which includes investigating matters pertaining to the economic and social aspects of veterinary service.

The Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents serves as an informational and advisory resource to government agencies and to other AVMA groups on issues pertaining to veterinary biologics, drugs, and other therapeutic agents. The council also fosters the proper use of biologics and therapeutic agents in the practice of veterinary medicine.

The Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine recommends and encourages programs designed to prevent, control, and eradicate animal diseases with the participation of local practitioners. The council also studies problems of zoonotic diseases and problems involving the production, processing, and distribution of foods of animal origin as they relate to ensuring an adequate food supply that is clean, sound, wholesome, and free from adulteration.

Committees and task forces—The Executive Board has responsibility for designating various committees and task forces as necessary to consider matters of interest to the Association. The Executive Board or organizations represented on the committee or task force appoint the members. In most cases, these committees and task forces report to the board. Currently, there are 23 committees ranging from the American Board of Veterinary Specialties to the Veterinary Leadership Conference Planning Committee. Two of the current task forces are the Task Force on AVMA Governance and Member Participation and the Task Force on Foreign Veterinary School Accreditation.

LOOKING FORWARD

Looking back through 150 years of AVMA governance, the one clear constant has been change. The Association has continually transformed itself to better serve its members, better represent the veterinary profession, and better fulfill its purpose, and that transformation continues today.

In 2006, the House of Delegates adopted new bylaws, replacing the existing constitution and bylaws. Subsequently, however, discussion continued regarding the role of the House of Delegates in the Association, especially with regard to its authority and responsibilities. In particular, although the bylaws state that "The House of Delegates shall be the principal body within the Association responsible for establishing policy and providing direction for matters relating to veterinary medicine. ...," it became clear that the Executive Board and the House itself were having difficulties interpreting this section and agreeing on its meaning.

In response, at least in part, the New Jersey VMA submitted a resolution for consideration during the 2011 House of Delegates regular annual session in St. Louis asking that the Executive Board appoint a task force to analyze the House of Delegates' role and determine whether it was still relevant. Although this resolution was disapproved, the House passed a subsequent resolution submitted by the Executive Board and House Advisory Committee establishing a task force to examine not just the House of Delegates but also the entire governance structure of the Association, including member participation.

During its August 2011 meeting, the Executive Board approved the establishment of an 11-member Task Force on AVMA Governance and Member Participation, charging it with reviewing and evaluating the Association's governance structure, including the Executive Board, House of Delegates, councils, committees, task forces, commissions, trusts, and all other entities. The task force was also instructed to assess each entity's purpose and effectiveness, along with the quality and outcome of its work, and to determine whether the current governance structure would meet the future needs of the membership, the veterinary profession, and the Association.

The task force was scheduled to meet several times in 2012, and although the outcome of its meetings is yet unknown, it is clear that as the Association looks forward to its next 150 years, it will continue to adapt and transform itself to meet the ever-evolving needs of the veterinary profession, society, and the animals it serves.

First page of the constitution and bylaws adopted by the USVMA in 1863  
The text reads, "The Committee appointed to draft By-Laws for the United States Veterinary Medical Association respectfully offer the following for the consideration of the Association."
Constitution and Bylaws of the  
United States Veterinary Medical Association

Adopted June 10, 1863
CHAPTER 1

Article 1. This association shall be known as the United States Veterinary Medical Association. It shall consist of Stated and Honorary Members.

Article 2. The purposes and objects of the Association are to contribute to the diffusion of true science and particularly the knowledge of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery.

Article 3. The Officers of this Society shall be a President, Vice-Presidents, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, and a Treasurer, all of whom shall be elected, by ballot, at each anniversary meeting, and a majority of all the votes shall be necessary for a choice. They shall be elected for one year and until their successors are chosen; to whom they shall without delay, deliver and transfer all moneys, books, manuscripts, vouchers and all other property or papers belonging to the Association in their possession.

Article 4. At each anniversary meeting, the Association shall appoint in the manner provided for in the election of officers, six Censors, to continue in office for one year and until others are appointed in their place.

Article 5. The several officers of the Association, together with the 6 Censors, shall constitute the Comitia Minora.

Article 6. The Association shall receive such Delegates as the various State and County Veterinary Societies may elect, on proof of due qualifications.
CHAPTER 2. PRESIDENT

Article 1. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the Association, and preserve order and decorum.

Article 2. He shall appoint all committees, unless otherwise ordered by special resolution.

Article 3. He shall have no vote, except on questions where the votes are equally divided, and in the election of Officers, Censors and Delegates.

Article 4. He shall keep on file all documents and certificates in relation to the Association, that may be deposited with him, and these he shall deliver to his successor.

Article 5. The President shall perform all the duties prescribed by the laws of the Association and resolutions thereof.
CHAPTER 3. VICE-PRESIDENTS

Article 1. There shall be one Vice-President elected from each State represented.

Article 2. The Association shall elect one of the Vice-Presidents, in the absence of the President, to perform the duties of that Officer.

CHAPTER 4. CORRESPONDING SECRETARIES

Article 1. A Corresponding Secretary shall be elected from each State by ballot at the annual meeting.

Article 2. Their duties shall be to conduct the correspondence of the Association. They shall retain copies of all letters written by them in behalf of the Association, and preserve and file all letters and communications received by them in their official capacity and shall report the same at each meeting.

Article 3. They shall obey all orders and resolutions appertaining to the duties of their office.
CHAPTER 5. SECRETARY

Article 1. The Secretary shall perform the duties directed by the laws of the Association and the bylaws and resolutions of the same.

Article 2. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to notify each person proposed as a member of this Association, that he has been so proposed and transmit him a copy of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth articles of the 13th chapter of the bylaws.

CHAPTER 6. TREASURER

Article 1. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to put all the moneys of the Association into one fund, to be appropriated to the payment of current expenses and for such other purposed as the Association may at its anniversary meetings direct.

Article 2. He shall pay, by order of the President, all bills duly audited by the Finance Committee.

Article 3. At every anniversary meeting he shall give a detailed statement of his receipts and disbursements, duly audited and signed by the Finance Committee.
CHAPTER 7. CENSORS

Article 1. It shall be the duty of the Censors to examine applicants, who may apply for that purpose, provided they present them satisfactory testimonials that they are regular practitioners of the Veterinary Profession, and if on examination they find him qualified, they shall give a certificate thereof in writing to the President of the Association.

Article 2. The examinations shall be held at the stated meetings of the Comitia Minora or at a special meeting called by the President for the purpose.

CHAPTER 8. COMITIA MINORA

Article 1. The Comitia Minora shall meet once in 6 months.

Article 2. The President may call a special meeting of the Comitia Minora whenever he shall deem it necessary.

Article 3. The President or a Vice-President, together with five Censors, shall constitute a quorum for the examination of candidates for fellowship; but any five members may constitute a quorum for the transaction of other business.

Article 4. The journal of the proceedings of the Comitia Minora shall be kept by the Secretary, and read at each anniversary meeting, together with the names of the attending and absent members; and if it shall appear that any member has been absent from two meetings in succession, without having assigned a satisfactory reason, he shall be ineligible to office for the ensuing year.

Article 5. All communications, memoirs or essays on medical subjects, after having been read before and accepted by the Association may be submitted to the Comitia Minora for their subsequent examination, by whom they may be ordered to be published.

Article 6. The Comitia Minora shall make the necessary arrangements for the meetings of the Association and execute such other duties as the Association shall direct.

Article 7. The Comitia Minora may make rules and regulations for their government not inconsistent with the bylaws of the Association.

Article 8. It shall be the duty of the Comitia Minora to take cognizance of breaches of the precepts of medical ethics which shall be laid before them, and they may report the results of their proceedings thereon to the Association, if they think proper.
CHAPTER 9. PERMANENT COMMITTEES

Article 1. The following permanent committees shall be appointed by the President, at the anniversary meeting, viz: the Library Committee, Committee on Intelligence and Education, Committee on Diseases and a Finance Committee.

Article 2. The Library Committee shall have the immediate charge of the Library. They shall make and preserve a correct catalogue of the books belonging to the Association; they shall make such purchases of books as the Association may from time to time direct, and they shall report in writing, at each anniversary meeting, the actual condition of the library, the number of volumes, the number of works added, whether by purchase or presentation, as well as the number, if any, missing.

Article 3. The Library Committee shall have power, with the consent of the Association, to make such rules and regulations as shall be thought most conducive to the welfare of the library.

Article 4. The Committee on Intelligence and Education shall collect and report to this Association recent veterinary medical facts and intelligence.

Article 5. Any member of this Committee may report verbally such articles of intelligence as he may acquire.

Article 6. This Committee shall keep a book in which they shall record all information given to the Association.

Article 7. This Committee shall take charge of all models and instruments belonging to this Association.

Article 8. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Diseases to investigate the character, causes and progress of diseases as they may prevail, with the best means for their prevention and cure and keep a record of the same.

Article 9. It shall be the duty of the preceding committees to report, whenever ordered by the Association, the records of their proceedings, with such observations as they may think proper.

Article 10. The Finance Committee shall audit the Treasurer's account and also all other accounts that may be presented to the Association for payment, and they shall also devise ways and means to raise funds when necessary, to meet the expenditures of the Association and report their proceedings at each anniversary.

Article 11. The President shall be ex-officio a member of the Several Permanent Committees and he shall have power to convene them whenever, in his judgment, it shall be necessary.
CHAPTER 10. MEETINGS OF THE ASSOCIATION

Article 1. The Anniversary Meeting of the Association shall be held on the first Tuesday in September in every year, the Comitia Minora shall select the place and hour of meeting, unless otherwise directed by the Association, due notice of which shall be given by the Committee.

Article 2. Special Meetings shall be called by the President or, in his absence, by a Vice-President, upon the written request of twenty members, specifying the particular objects of such meetings, a notice of which shall be published at least one month before said meeting in such papers as the Secretary shall select. The President is also authorized, at his discretion to call special meetings duly notified as above.

Article 3. The Anniversary and Stated Meetings may be adjourned from day to day.

Article 4. Fifteen members shall form a quorum for the transaction of business, and a quorum shall always be presumed present, except at anniversary meetings, unless an actual count be called for.

Article 5. In the absence of the President and Vice-President, the Association shall elect any member as president pro tempore.

Article 6. Every member shall observe order and decorum in the Association, shall pay due respect to the President and other officers and to his fellows and no member shall withdraw during the session, without special permission from the chair.

Article 7. All questions of order, whether in debate or otherwise, not specially provided for, shall be decided by the usual Congressional rules.
CHAPTER 11. ANNIVERSARY MEETINGS

Article 1. At each anniversary meeting, the minutes of the Comitia Minora, the Treasurer's report of the last year and the reports of the various committees shall be read.

Article 2. The election of officers for the ensuing year, as provided for in Article 3, Chapter 1, shall be next in order.

Article 3. Amendments to the Bylaws shall be considered and accounts against the Association shall be acted on.

Stated Meetings

Article 4. At each stated meeting, after the presiding officer shall have declared the Association formed, the minutes of the last meeting shall be read.

Article 5. The motions and other unfinished business of the last meeting shall be considered.

Article 6. No member shall be permitted to speak a second time, until each member who may wish to address the meeting on the subject under consideration may have had an opportunity of doing so; nor shall any member be allowed to speak more than twice, on any question, without special permission.

Article 7. Communications on medical subjects may be received and read before the Association, by the members presenting them. The presiding officer may direct the order in which communications shall be read.
CHAPTER 12. SPECIAL MEETINGS

At special meetings no other business, except such as shall have been specified in the requisition, and in the published call for the meeting, shall be transacted.

CHAPTER 13. ADMISSION OF MEMBERS

Article 1. When any Veterinary practitioner or Student of 3 years standing in the profession, applies for admission into this Association, the documents and testimonials relative to his professional qualifications shall be placed in the hands of the Secretary, who shall lay them before the Comitia Minora: whose duty it shall be to examine the same, and if they deem it expedient examine also the candidate and if they approve thereof, they shall grant him a certificate of fellowship.

Article 2. No person, immigrating from a foreign country, and claiming the right to practice Veterinary Medicine and Surgery shall be admitted a fellow of this Association by the Comitia Minora, unless he shall produce satisfactory testimonials of his professional qualifications.

Article 3. Every member shall sign the Constitution and the Bylaws.

Article 4. Every candidate, before signing the Bylaws and receiving his certificate of fellowship, shall be required by the Secretary to present the Treasurer's receipt for his initiation fee of Five Dollars, which shall be appointed to the use of the Association; whereupon the Secretary shall present him with a copy of the Bylaws.

Article 5. No person shall be considered a member of this Association, until he has complied with the preceding article.

Article 6. Every member shall observe the code of medical ethics adopted by this Association and be answerable to the Comitia Minora, for breaches of the same.

Article 7. The following shall be the form of the Certificate of Fellowship

These are to certify that _________ is a fellow of the United States Veterinary Medical Association incorporated in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three.

In testimony whereof, we have affixed our hands and the seal of the Association, this ______ day of ______ 18__

Censors President Secretary
CHAPTER 14. CONTRIBUTIONS AND ARREARS

Article 1. The Association, at the anniversary meeting, may assess such amount as shall meet the yearly expenses.

Article 2. The treasurer shall, from time to time, at the cost of the Association, collect the arrears of each member.

CHAPTER 15. HONORARY MEMBERS

Article 1. Any member may propose a candidate as an honorary member; the medical rank or station held by him shall be furnished in writing by the proposer, at or previous to the time of such proposal; the person so proposed shall be balloted for at a subsequent meeting. A majority of votes shall constitute him an honorary member.

Article 2. No more than three honorary members shall be elected annually.

Article 3. The honorary members may take part in debate but shall not be entitled to vote.

Article 4. The President of the United States, for the time being, shall be ex-officio, an honorary member.

The following shall be the form of diploma for honorary member:

This is to certify that we, the President, Vice-Presidents, and Fellows of the United States Veterinary Medical Association have received ________ as an honorary fellow of our Association and the said _________ is hereby authorized to claim and enjoy all the rights, privileges and honors belonging to the said fellowship.

In witness whereof, we have caused these presents to be signed by our President and Secretary and sealed by our common Seal, this day, ______ day of ______

President Recording Secretary

Final page of the original constitution and bylaws adopted by the USVMA in 1863, signed by Josiah H. Stickney and Alex. Liautard
Are we nine years too late?

Throughout the years, various authors have contended that the establishment of the United States Veterinary Medical Association in 1863 did not, in fact, represent the founding of a new organization and that the USVMA merely represented a reorganization of the American Veterinary Association, which had been founded in Philadelphia in 1854. This, of course, would mean that in 2013, the AVMA is actually 159, not 150, years old.

It is true that the American Veterinary Association was founded in Philadelphia on May 7, 1854, by Robert Jennings of New Jersey and Isaiah Michener of Pennsylvania. The newly formed association was quickly recognized by the Pennsylvania Society of Agriculture, an early sponsor of formal agricultural education in the country. During the society's September 1954 exhibition, the AVA was awarded a silver medal for its collection of anatomic and pathological specimens.

Most of the AVA's early members came from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. In 1859, Jennings and Michener began to consider how to expand the association beyond the boundaries of these three states, and during an April 1863 meeting of the AVA, plans were made to accomplish that goal. A resolution was passed that read: "Resolved, that the friends of veterinary science favorable to maintaining a national veterinary association for the advancement and diffusion of veterinary knowledge meet in convention in New York City, Tuesday, June 9, 1863, and be it further Resolved, that veterinary surgeons in all parts of the United States and all persons favorable to such an organization, be invited to attend the convention." The secretary was directed to invite practitioners from the adjacent states to the ninth annual meeting of the AVA at the Astor House in New York on June 9, 1863. One of the first pieces of business at this meeting was the reading of the minutes of the two previous meetings of the AVA.

It seems clear, however, that the original members of the USVMA themselves considered this to be a new organization. Jennings was chosen as the recording secretary for the organizational meeting of the USVMA, and in this capacity, he apparently entered the minutes of the two previous meetings of the AVA on the first pages of what would become the USVMA Minutes Book. Other members objected to this, and during the 1866 semiannual meeting of the USVMA, which Jennings apparently attended, it was moved and seconded "that some action be taken at the annual meeting, in regard to the late Secretary R. Jennings, he having introduced into the records, the minutes of two meetings, held in Philadelphia, dated March 1863, and prior to the existence of the USVMA...," according to J.F. Smithcors in his book "The American Veterinary Profession."

At the subsequent annual meeting, which Jennings did not attend, a committee was appointed to investigate the charges that Jennings had tampered with the Association's records. The committee "considered it a most unwarrantable act on the part of said R. Jennings, and in consequence thereof, they deem it but just to the members of this society, that he be expelled." It was further moved and carried "that the minutes inserted by R. Jennings be expunged from the records." Subsequently, the only record of those minutes was the following notation on the first two leaves of the USVMA Minutes Book: "Margin of leaves on which R. Jennings inserted minutes of meetings held in Philadelphia previous to the formation of the Association, and while acting as Secretary."

Jennings' expulsion was certainly not solely the result of his perceived mishandling of the minutes. He had a reputation as being a thorn in the side of the new Association and reportedly also was engaged in advertising and selling quack medicines. Nevertheless, his associates were not happy with how Jennings' expulsion was handled, and the situation likely added to the rift between the Philadelphia and New York members of the USVMA. How much of an effect this discord had on limiting the scope of the USVMA during those early years is not known, but it certainly tended to divide the loyalties of veterinarians in the Philadelphia area. For many years after its formation, the Keystone Veterinary Association, which met in Philadelphia, had a larger membership and greater meeting attendance than did the USVMA.
The Seal of the Association

During the organizational meeting of the United States Veterinary Medical Association in 1863, the members adopted a seal for the new Association. This consisted of a centaur with a scroll in his hand, symbolic both of the antiquity of veterinary medicine and of the transmission of medical knowledge from Apollo to the mythologic Greek figure Aesculapius, and the motto "non nobis solum," a Latin phrase meaning "not for us alone."

It appears that the seal was used very little during the latter years of the USVMA, and there is no indication that it was seriously considered for use after the USVMA changed its name to the AVMA in 1898. At the 1907 AVMA meeting in Kansas City, James Law appointed a special committee to consider the matter of an Association seal, but the committee was dropped in 1911, reportedly without having taken any action.

In 1915, D.M. Campbell was appointed chair of a committee to select a new seal for the Association. The next year, the committee reported that there was considerable sentiment for use of an emblem incorporating the blue cross, which was widely used at that time as a distinguishing mark by veterinarians throughout the United States and Canada. In 1921, however, the committee recommended adoption of an emblem consisting of the caduceus with a superimposed letter "V," similar to the emblems that had been chosen by the Veterinary Corps following its establishment in 1916 and that had been used by the California VMA. This emblem was officially adopted in 1921.

Not long after the adoption of the caduceus as the emblem of the AVMA, it was argued that this symbol was less than desirable, because the caduceus was the staff of the Greek god Hermes (or Mercury, in Roman mythology), who was associated with commercial, rather than medical, interests. Following discussion, the AVMA House of Delegates adopted a new logo in 1970 during the 107th annual meeting of the Association in Las Vegas. The logo was chosen from a number of designs and consisted of the Aesculapian staff with the letter "V" superimposed on the staff. It is the same seal used by the Association today.

Aesculapius was regarded by the ancient Greeks as the god of healing. He was the son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis. Aesculapius' mother died at the time of his birth, and he was cared for by the centaur Chiron, who trained him in the healing arts. According to myth, Aesculapius often carried a staff and serpent as he went about his work treating the sick, and these became his symbol after his death. As to Aesculapius' death, one story holds that Zeus killed Aesculapius with a thunderbolt because he raised Hippolytus from the dead and accepted payment for it. Another story, however, says that Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, became concerned that if Aesculapius were to continue to bring people back from the dead, no more spirits would come to the underworld, and asked Zeus to kill him. Aesculapius reportedly had six daughters and three sons. The names of his daughters, including Hygieia and Panacea, represent various aspects of the medical arts.
AVMA Presidents

Josiah H. Stickney  
1863–1864

The first president of the United States Veterinary Medical Association, Josiah Stickney was born in Boston in 1827. After earning his MD degree in Boston, Dr. Stickney traveled to London for veterinary training. He was a member of the Committee on Organization, which drafted the first constitution for the USVMA, and was elected president reportedly as a token of the esteem in which he was held by his fellow practitioners. Following his year of service as president, Dr. Stickney held one elective office or another in the Association for the subsequent 17 years.

A.S. Copeman  
1864–1865

A.S. Copeman was a self-educated practitioner who worked in Utica, N.Y., for many years. He contributed to the American Veterinary Journal and was the veterinary editor of the Spirit of the Times for seven years. The same year he was elected USVMA president, Dr. Copeman accepted a position as professor of theory and practice at the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons. He left after only a few years for a lucrative practice in New York City. Having lost all his money through a series of family troubles, he took his own life in 1876.

Charles M. Wood  
1865–1866

Born in England in 1835, Charles Wood originally came to the United States to work as a blacksmith but soon turned to veterinary practice. A self-educated practitioner, he was nonetheless one of the driving forces behind the Boston Veterinary Institute, insisting on high academic standards. In 1861, he worked for the Army of the Potomac as a civilian inspector of animals. During his veterinary career, he worked out of a livery stable in Boston and was a regular contributor to the American Veterinary Journal and the Veterinarian.

R.H. Curtis  
1866–1867

R.H. Curtis was a London graduate who in the 1960s practiced in Brooklyn, where he also ran a riding school. The apparent focus of his life, however, was reportedly his nephew, Alfred Large, whom he adopted as a son and who later was elected president of the USVMA (1871–1875), making them the only father-son combination to serve as presidents of the Association. Quite advanced in years at the time the Association was formed, Dr. Curtis resigned from the Association the year after his presidency and was made the first honorary member.

Robert Wood  
1867–1869

Robert Wood and Charles M. Wood (1865–1866) were the only pair of brothers to serve as presidents of the USVMA. Robert was reportedly a quite progressive practitioner. In his writing, for instance, he describes using ether anesthesia for castration of pigs with scrotal hernias and other conditions. A contributor to the American Veterinary Journal, he was also a professor at the Boston Veterinary Institute. At the same time, he apparently took in private students at his practice in Lowell, Mass.

Elisha F. Thayer  
1869–1871

Around 1850, Elisha Thayer began to study and work with Charles M. Wood, the third USVMA president, and in 1853, he traveled to England to study at London and Glasgow. Dr. Thayer was instrumental in the identification of contagious pleuropneumonia in a herd of imported Dutch cattle in Massachusetts, and in 1862, he was appointed as a member of the Massachusetts Cattle Commission. On the basis of Dr. Thayer's recommendations, the commission eradicated the disease from the state in 1865, and the disease did not reappear, although cattle in neighboring states were infected.

Alfred Large  
1871–1875

Alfred Large did his veterinary training at the London Veterinary College, and shortly after returning to the United States, he earned an MD degree at the Long Island Medical College. He then took charge of the practice of his uncle, former USVMA president Dr. R.H. Curtis (1866–1867). Dr. Large became professor of theory and practice at the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons following the resignation of Dr. A.S. Copeman and continued in that position at the American Veterinary College in New York after that institution seceded from the NYCVS.

Alexandre F. Liautard  
1875–1877, 1886–1887

One of the founding fathers of the USVMA, Alexandre Liautard is credited with holding the Association together during its early years, and he held elective office for 20 successive years. In 1877, Dr. Liautard became editor of the American Veterinary Review, widely considered his greatest contribution to the veterinary profession. Even after he severed his financial interest in the Review in 1900, he continued as a senior editor for another 15 years. Dr. Liautard was also instrumental in the formation of the American Veterinary College in 1875 and led it for the next 25 years.

Charles Parker Lyman  
1877–1879

The first president who was not one of the founding fathers of the USVMA, Charles Lyman received his veterinary degree from Edinburgh in 1874 and was made a fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1880. He became a professor of veterinary medicine in the veterinary department at Harvard University in 1882 and, in 1886, was named the first dean of the Harvard Veterinary School. His son, Dr. Richard P. Lyman, became the first dean of veterinary medicine at Michigan State University.

James Lindsay Robertson  
1879–1881

James Robertson earned a veterinary degree from the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1867, a medical degree from the University of the City of New York in 1869, and a second veterinary degree from the American Veterinary College in 1876. He served on the faculties of both the NYCVS and the AVC and, later, at the combined New York–American Veterinary College.

Williamson Bryden  
1881–1883

Although born in Scotland, Williamson Bryden came to the United States as a boy and graduated from the Montreal Veterinary College in 1871. He served as a member of the board of examiners for the college and was a charter member and president of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Bryden served as an inspector of cattle for the Port of Boston.

William B.E. Miller  
1883–1885

William Miller graduated from the American Veterinary College in 1879 and traveled extensively to demonstrate a standing technique for castration of cryptorchid horses. He was a trustee of the AVC, president of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, and one of the first inspectors for the Bureau of Animal Industry, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that was later replaced by the Agricultural Research Service.

Lachlan McClean  
1885–1886

Lachlan McClean graduated from the Edinburgh Veterinary College in 1854 and was named a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1880. He practiced in Scotland after graduation but later moved to Canada, where he worked for the British government. After moving to the United States, Dr. McClean founded in 1866 the Brooklyn Veterinary Hospital, where he worked for the next 48 years, retiring in 1914. In 1879, he had also been appointed a special veterinary inspector to the Board of Health of Brooklyn.

Rush Shippen Huidekoper  
1887–1889, 1890–1892

After graduating from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, Rush Huidekoper entered medical practice in 1877. In 1881, however, he moved to Alfort, France, where he studied veterinary medicine and worked in the laboratories of Virchow, Koch, Chaveau, and Pasteur. Dr. Huidekoper was the founder of the veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1884 and served as the school's first dean for five years. He then moved to New York, where he taught at the American Veterinary College and New York College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Charles B. Michener  
1889–1890

Charles Michener graduated from the American Veterinary College and taught at the college, as a professor of obstetrics, materia medica, and therapeutics, and at the New York College of Veterinary Surgery, as a professor of cattle pathology and obstetrics. He also was an assistant chief for the Bureau of Animal Industry. His father, Dr. Isaiah Michener, was one of the founders of the USVMA, and reportedly the one who suggested the name that was eventually adopted by the new association.

Walter Long Williams  
1892–1893

Born in Illinois, Walter Williams attended the Montreal Veterinary College, where he studied under the physician Sir William Osler. Dr. Williams identified dourine in Illinois horses in the 1880s and is credited with developing much of the early knowledge of this disease. In 1896, he was named professor of veterinary surgery, obstetrics, zootechnics, and jurisprudence at Cornell University. He was the author of two classic textbooks, "Veterinary Obstetrics" and "Diseases of the Genital Organs of Domestic Animals."

William Horace Hoskins  
1893–1896

A successful practitioner, William Hoskins also lectured on veterinary jurisprudence, ethics, and business methods at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from the American Veterinary College in 1881 and, in 1917, became dean of the merged New York–American Veterinary College. Dr. Hoskins served as editor of the journal Comparative Medicine and Veterinary Archives for many years. His son, Dr. H. Preston Hoskins, served as AVMA secretary and editor of the JAVMA and was the first individual to fulfill the combined role of secretary-editor.

Frederick H. Osgood  
1896–1897

Credited as the prime mover in the establishment of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association in 1884 and the MVMA's first president, Frederick Osgood graduated from the Edinburgh Veterinary College. He served as a lecturer in cattle pathology and professor of veterinary surgery at the Harvard University Veterinary School and was a member of the State Cattle Commission during the early days of tuberculosis eradication.

Daniel E. Salmon  
1897–1898

Daniel Salmon graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University in 1872 and earned his DVM degree following clinical study in France. He organized the Bureau of Animal Industry in 1884 and served as its chief for 21 years. During his time with the agency, the BAI eradicated pleuropneumonia and several outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease; developed the federal meat inspection system; identified the mode of transmission of Texas fever, along with methods to control the disease; promulgated effective quarantine regulations for imported animals; and made progress in the control of hog cholera.

Albert W. Clement  
1898–1899

First president of the newly named American Veterinary Medical Association, Albert Clement taught at McGill University in Montreal following his graduation from the McGill veterinary school and investigated cattle diseases for the Canadian government. He subsequently investigated animal diseases while at Johns Hopkins University and was associated with the Bureau of Animal Industry. He actively promoted the veterinary aspects of public health in Baltimore and, in 1896, was appointed state veterinarian of Maryland.

Leonard Pearson  
1899–1900

In 1892, Leonard Pearson conducted the first tuberculin test in America; in 1895, he introduced the so-called Pennsylvania plan for voluntary testing of cattle; and in 1908, he diagnosed Johne's disease for the first time in America. Dr. Pearson received his VMD degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1890 and in 1894 returned to the university as a professor of veterinary medicine. He was dean of the Pennsylvania veterinary school from 1897-1909. He received an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree in 1908.

Tait S. Butler  
1900–1901

A native of Ontario and graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College in 1885, Tait Butler opened a general veterinary practice in Davenport, Iowa. He helped organize the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and served as both secretary and president of the IVMA. During the 19 years from 1891-1909, Dr. Butler served as a professor of veterinary science at the Mississippi, Kansas, and North Carolina state universities. After his retirement from teaching, he went on to become editor of The Progressive Farmer magazine.

John Frost Winchester  
1901–1902

John Winchester graduated from the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1875 and from the American Veterinary College in 1878. He was primarily a general practitioner but also lectured on veterinary science in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Dr. Winchester was a member of the Massachusetts Cattle Commission and the American Public Health Association and was well-known for his knowledge of, and expertise in, tuberculosis.

Sesco Stewart  
1902–1903

Sesco Stewart was born in Ontario but moved to the United States when quite young and considered Pennsylvania to be his home. He obtained a medical degree from Wooster University in 1878 and entered medical practice in Iowa. Then, however, he entered the Iowa State veterinary college, graduating in 1885, and practiced veterinary medicine until 1892. Working as a meat inspector in Kansas City, Dr. Stewart became interested in the Kansas City Veterinary College and helped lead the move to reorganize the college in 1895, subsequently serving as secretary-treasurer of the college.

Roscoe R. Bell  
1903–1904

An 1887 graduate of the American Veterinary College, Roscoe Bell returned to the AVC the following year as a professor of materia medica, working there until the year before his death in 1908. In 1896, Dr. Bell purchased an interest in the American Veterinary Review, becoming one of its editors, and was credited with an immediate improvement in the Journal. After Dr. Liautard's return to France in 1900, Dr. Bell became sole editor and, presumably, proprietor of the Review.

Morton Edmund Knowles  
1904–1905

Morton Knowles graduated from the American Veterinary College in 1884. He served as the Indiana state veterinarian from 1886-1892 and as the Montana state veterinarian from 1892-1913. In 1917, Dr. Knowles was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Veterinary Corps and eventually rose to the rank of major. He served as chief veterinarian on the staff of General John J. Pershing during World War I.

William Herbert Lowe  
1905–1906

Prominent in veterinary matters in New Jersey, William Lowe was the author of the New Jersey veterinary practice act, which was adopted in 1902, and for 10 years was an executive member of the state's board of examiners. He is also credited with helping to consolidate the many local veterinary associations in New Jersey into a strong state association. Following his term as AVMA president, Dr. Lowe was elected chair of the Executive Board in 1911.

James Law  
1906–1907

Born in Scotland, James Law entered the Edinburgh Veterinary College at 16, graduating in 1857. In 1868, he was hired as a professor of veterinary science at the newly established veterinary college at Cornell University. In 1872, Dr. Law was appointed by the U.S. commissioner of agriculture to investigate an outbreak of equine influenza that was affecting the United States. Dr. Law retired after working 40 years at the veterinary college, where he was a leading proponent of higher standards for veterinary education.

William Haddock Dalrymple  
1907–1908

Known as the father of veterinary medicine in the South, William Dalrymple became a professor of comparative medicine at Louisiana State University in 1889 and the first veterinarian at the Agricultural Experiment Station. Born in 1856, Dr. Dalrymple worked in the banking industry prior to entering veterinary medicine. He graduated from the Glasgow veterinary school in 1886 and immigrated to the United States in 1891.

John Gunion Rutherford  
1908–1909

John Rutherford was born in Scotland in 1857 and immigrated to Canada in 1875. He graduated first in his class at the Ontario Veterinary College in 1879 and practiced in various locations in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. He settled in Manitoba in 1884 and was veterinary inspector for the province until 1902, when he was appointed the dominion's veterinary director general. In 1906, he was appointed dominion livestock commissioner. Dr. Rutherford was reportedly critical in having the Ontario Veterinary College made a provincial institution associated with the University of Toronto.

Alonzo Dorus Melvin  
1909–1910

Born in Illinois, Alonzo Melvin graduated from the Chicago Veterinary College in 1862. He worked for the Bureau of Animal Industry and become known almost immediately for his work on contagious pleuropneumonia in Illinois and Maryland. He also was in charge of the bureau's work at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. On the retirement of Dr. Daniel Salmon, Dr. Melvin became chief of the BAI. During his time as chief, he was largely responsible for improvements in the meat inspection system and for eradication or control of foot-and-mouth disease, Texas fever, dourine, hog cholera, and tuberculosis.

George Henry Glover  
1910–1911

An 1885 graduate of Iowa State University, George Glover spent 12 years as a veterinary inspector in Colorado and Montana. He then practiced in Denver for seven years, and, for a short time, he was an instructor in the Colorado State University College of Agriculture. In 1907, he was instrumental in the establishment of what eventually became the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University, and he served as the college's first dean from 1907 until his retirement in 1934.

Samuel Brenton  
1911–1912

Samuel Brenton was born in Ontario and graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1880. He practiced in Jackson, Mich., from 1880-1887 but then moved to Detroit, establishing the Detroit Veterinary Sanitarium, one of the largest veterinary practices in the Midwest. In 1883, he was one of the organizers of the Michigan State Veterinary Medical Society, and he was a professor of surgery in the short-lived Detroit Veterinary College.

John Robbins Mohler  
1912–1913

John Mohler received his VMD degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1896 and did advanced study at Marquette University in Milwaukee and the National Veterinary School of Alfort, France. In 1897, he took a position with the Bureau of Animal Industry, where he worked for 46 years. The National Poultry Improvement Plan was established with his encouragement, and he was involved with improvements to the meat inspection service and the development of hog cholera serum. In 1917, with the death of Dr. Alonzo Melvin, Dr. Mohler became the third chief of the BAI. He was the first recipient of the AVMA Award, in 1943.

Clarence James Marshall  
1913–1915

Graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1894, Clarence Marshall became house surgeon at his alma mater, later serving as an assistant to Dean Leonard Pearson and, in 1909, becoming a professor of theory and practice. He also served for a time as the Pennsylvania state veterinarian. The 1914 meeting of the AVMA was scheduled for December in New Orleans, but shortly before the meeting, Dr. Marshall decided that the meeting could not be held because of an outbreak of aphthous fever (foot-and-mouth disease) in 16 states. He was the last individual, other than Dr. James Farquharson in the mid-1940s, to serve two years as AVMA president.

Robert A. Archibald  
1915–1916

Born in Ireland, Robert Archibald came to the United States when he was 17 and graduated from the Chicago Veterinary College four years later. He then started a practice in California, reportedly using $20 borrowed from a colleague. He became veterinarian for the city of Oakland in 1899, and a professor of bacteriology in the Oakland College of Medicine in 1908 and at the San Francisco Veterinary College in 1909. He is credited with being the first to advocate reorganizing the AVMA to make it a truly national association.

Charles E. Cotton  
1916–1917

Charles Cotton was born in Prescott, Wis., in 1871 and received his veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1893. He was considered one of the pioneers in tuberculosis eradication and was active in livestock affairs and livestock sanitary organizations. In 1917, during World War I, he was commissioned as a major and served as a general veterinary inspector of the Army Veterinary Corps until his discharge in 1919.

Fred Torrance  
1917–1918

An 1882 graduate of McGill University, Fred Torrance established a practice in Brandon, Manitoba. He moved to the capital of Winnipeg in 1892, and from 1912-1923, he was veterinary director general for the dominion of Canada. Under Dr. Torrance's leadership, dourine was eradicated from the western Canadian provinces, glanders was nearly eliminated, and major campaigns were waged against mange and tuberculosis in cattle and cholera in hogs. In 1923, he became a professor of physiology and hygiene at the Ontario Veterinary College.

Veranus Alva Moore  
1918–1919

Veranus Moore received an MD degree from George Washington University in 1890 and an honorary veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1911. He worked for the Bureau of Animal Industry from 1890-1896, leaving to join the first faculty of veterinary medicine at Cornell University, as a professor of veterinary pathology, bacteriology, and meat inspection. In 1908, he became the second dean of the Cornell veterinary college, succeeding Dr. James Law, and in 1929, he retired.

Charles Alan Cary  
1919–1920

Born in Iowa, Charles Cary received his veterinary degree from Iowa State University in 1887. In 1892, he taught the first course in veterinary science at the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College, which went on to become Auburn University, and the following year, he was appointed professor of physiology and veterinary science. Dr. Cary was Alabama's first state veterinarian, in 1905. In 1907, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine, the first veterinary college in the South, serving as the college's founding dean until his death in 1935.

David Stuart White  
1920–1921

After graduating with a veterinary degree from The Ohio State University in 1890, David White traveled to Europe to continue his studies. He returned to Ohio State in 1893 and was dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine from 1895-1929. In 1917, he was commissioned as a major in the Army Veterinary Corps, later becoming chief veterinarian of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. Dr. White was instrumental in transferring the Veterinary Corps from the Quartermaster Corps to the Medical Corps.

Albert Thomas Kinsley  
1921–1922

Albert Kinsley was born in Iowa in 1877. He received his master's degree from Kansas State University, studied pathology at the University of Chicago, and graduated from the Kansas City Veterinary College in 1904. He purchased an interest in the KCVC in 1912, became its president, and taught pathology, bacteriology, and parasitology there. He pioneered a section on swine medicine in the journal Veterinary Medicine and authored two textbooks: "Swine Practice" and "Textbook of Veterinary Pathology."

William Henry Welch  
1922–1923

Following his graduation from the Chicago Veterinary College in 1892, William Welch established a successful practice in Lexington, Ill., where he was active in community affairs, serving as mayor for two years. In 1930, he was appointed chief veterinarian of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Charles Henry Stange  
1923–1924

A native of Iowa, Charles Stange graduated from Iowa State University in 1907 and became an assistant professor of veterinary medicine that fall. He was named acting dean of the ISU Division of Veterinary Medicine (later renamed the College of Veterinary Medicine) in 1908 and served as dean from 1909-1936. Under Dr. Stange, Iowa State was, in 1911, the first veterinary school to require high school graduation for matriculation and, in 1931, the first to require a year of preveterinary college study. Dr. Stange originated the idea of AVMA student chapters and saw them established in all the U.S. veterinary schools.

Louis A. Merillat  
1924–1925

Louis Merillat graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1888. He established a large practice in Chicago and served as a professor of anatomy at the McKillip Veterinary College from 1893-1900, as a professor of surgery at the Chicago Veterinary College from 1900-1913, and as a professor of surgery at McKillip from 1913 to the time of its closure in 1919. During World War I, Dr. Merillat was veterinarian for the 41st Division and, later, chief veterinarian of the First Army. He maintained an interest in military affairs, co-authoring the two-volume "Veterinary Military History" in 1935.

John William Adams  
1925–1926

Born in Mississippi, John Adams received a bachelor's in classical studies from the University of Minnesota in 1886 and taught English for three years before entering veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1892. He then studied in Germany, specializing in horse-shoeing, but in 1893 returned to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was made professor of surgery and obstetrics in 1896. He died one month after completing his term as AVMA president.

Thomas A. Sigler  
1926–1927

Thomas Sigler was born in Indiana in 1879 and graduated from the Indiana Veterinary College in 1902. For a time, he taught there and at the veterinary school in Terre Haute while maintaining a general practice. In 1904, he moved to Greencastle, Ind., where he worked for the next 50 years, establishing a nationally known practice

Reuben Hilty  
1927–1928

A 1907 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Reuben Hilty was born in Hancock County, Ohio, and had taught school for two years before pursuing his veterinary studies. For most of his life, he practiced in Toledo, where he was also a zoo veterinarian and noted judge of horse shows. Dr. Hilty was a founder of the Ohio board of veterinary examiners and served on the board for 15 years. During World War I, he was assistant chief veterinarian of the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

Thomas Edward Munce  
1928–1929

Thomas Munce was born in 1877 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school in 1904. He was in general practice for three years but then became engaged in regulatory work, being named deputy state veterinarian for Pennsylvania in 1909 and state veterinarian in 1919. In 1934, he presided over the first session of what was then called the AVMA House of Representatives.

Thomas H. Ferguson  
1929–1930

Born near Lake Geneva, Wis., in 1873, Thomas Ferguson returned to the area after graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1896. He established a general practice and served as a community leader for more than 60 years. His skill in veterinary surgery was internationally recognized, and for many years, he appeared on the programs for veterinary meetings throughout the United States and Canada.

Maurice Crowther Hall  
1930–1931

Maurice Hall obtained his doctorate from George Washington University in 1915 and his veterinary degree a year later. He worked as a zoologist for the Bureau of Animal Industry from 1907-1916 but left the bureau to take a job as a research parasitologist with Parke-Davis and Co. From 1918-1919, Dr. Hall served in the Army Veterinary Corps; then he returned to the BAI, becoming head of the Zoological Division in 1925. One of his most important accomplishments was the discovery that carbon tetrachloride was an effective anthelmintic for hookworm disease.

Ralph R. Dykstra  
1931–1932

A native of Holland, Ralph Dykstra moved to the United States when he was 2 and grew up in northwestern Iowa. He studied pharmacy, and, after several years in the drug business, entered veterinary college at Iowa State, graduating in 1905. Dr. Dykstra joined the staff at Iowa State in 1909 as a professor of comparative anatomy and obstetrics but left in 1911 to go to Kansas State University, where he became head of the Department of Surgery and Medicine in 1913. He was appointed dean at Kansas State in 1919 and continued in that position until his retirement in 1948.

Nicholas Williams  
1932–1933

Often considered to be a Texas native, because of his years of work in that state, Nicholas Williams was actually born in Boston in 1872. He graduated from the Kansas City Veterinary College in 1911 and then practiced in Amarillo for 15 years. In 1926, Dr. Williams was appointed Texas state veterinarian, and he was reappointed for several successive terms. In 1933, he joined Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories as manager of its Philadelphia depot.

Clifford P. Fitch  
1933–1934

Clifford Fitch taught high school after graduating from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., in 1906 but went on to study veterinary medicine at Cornell University, graduating in 1911. He remained on staff at Cornell until 1917, when he became chief of the Division of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Through his associations with the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association and State Live Stock Sanitary Board, he played an important role in disease control in Minnesota.

Robert Stuart MacKellar Sr.  
1934–1935

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Robert MacKellar came to the United States when he was very young. In 1894, he graduated from the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons and established a practice in New York. Except for two years spent in Nyack, N.Y., he worked in the New York practice for more than 60 years, including 30 years with his son, Robert S. MacKellar Jr.

Joseph C. Flynn  
1935–1936

Joseph Flynn was born in Nebraska in 1878 and graduated from the Kansas City Veterinary College in 1910. That year, he established one of the first veterinary practices devoted exclusively to small animal practice. A leading proponent of small animal practice, Dr. Flynn traveled thousands of miles urging others to become involved in this aspect of veterinary practice and demonstrating his techniques. He was also an associate editor of North American Veterinarian.

Col. Robert Julian Foster  
1936–1937

A 1902 graduate of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Robert Foster taught at Clemson College in South Carolina, the University of Missouri, and Kansas State Agricultural College. In 1905, Dr. Foster enlisted in the Army as a veterinarian for the 12th U.S. Cavalry. When the Army Veterinary Corps was established in 1916, he was appointed first lieutenant and became a key officer in the Corps' development. In 1918, he took command of the Veterinary Section of the Medical Officers' Training Camp at Fort Riley, and from 1920-1922, he was chief veterinarian of the Army of Occupation at Coblenz, Germany.

Oscar V. Brumley  
1937–1938

A native of Ohio, Oscar Brumley graduated from The Ohio State University in 1897. After pursuing graduate work in Berlin, he returned to Ohio State, where he became the director of clinics in 1910, secretary in 1912, and dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1929. His textbook on the diseases of small animals was a standard work for many years.

Henry Dale Bergman  
1938–1939

Born in Newton, Iowa, Henry Bergman graduated from Iowa State University in 1910 and then joined its staff as an assistant in veterinary medicine. He undertook graduate work at the University of Chicago, returning in 1911 to the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Iowa State, of which he became head in 1916. Dr. Bergman assumed the office of dean of the Division of Veterinary Medicine in 1943 and retired in 1952.

Cassius Way  
1939–1940

Cassius Way graduated from the Cornell University veterinary college in 1907 and went on to become a pioneer in milk sanitation in the Chicago area. His work with farmers is considered to have played a major role in advancing the concept that clean stables and healthy herds were vital to the production of quality milk. In 1914, he moved to New York, and although he remained involved in milk production, he became better known as an equine practitioner, working for racing stables and breeding farms along the Eastern Seaboard.

Alexander E. Wight  
1940–1941

Alexander Wight joined the Bureau of Animal Industry in 1898, a year after graduating from the Harvard Veterinary School. He was assigned to the Tuberculosis Eradication Division in 1917, when the modified accreditation program was started. In 1928, he became head of the division, and by the time he retired in 1946, every state had been accredited.

Harry W. Jakeman  
1941–1942

Harry Jakeman was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1885 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school in 1909, after which he did graduate work in Europe. He spent five years in general practice in British Columbia and another five as a pathologist at the University of Nevada before taking a position with Pitman-Moore Laboratories. Dr. Jakeman was a founder of the New England Veterinary Medical Association.

William Wallace Dimock  
1942–1943

Born in Tolland, Conn., in 1880, William Dimock graduated from the Cornell University veterinary college in 1905. From 1906-1909, he worked for the Department of Animal Husbandry in Cuba. Moving to the Iowa Agricultural College in Ames, he served for 10 years as the head of the Department of Pathology and Bacteriology. Dr. Dimock joined the University of Kentucky in 1919 as head of the Department of Animal Pathology. He is credited with introducing manual palpation for pregnancy diagnosis in mares.

Charles W. Bower  
1943–1944

After graduating from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1918, Charles Bower established a practice in Topeka that reportedly was the first small animal hospital in Kansas. He was president of the National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and the recipient of the AVMA Award in 1955. In addition to his service as AVMA president, he was president of the American Animal Hospital Association.

James Farquharson  
1944–1946

A native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, James Farquharson moved to Colorado in 1906, when he was 9 years old. He graduated from Colorado State University in 1921 and taught anatomy at Colorado State from 1922-1933, while also working in private practice, and he was director of the clinics from 1934-1952. During his career, Dr. Farquharson was considered a leader in the field of large animal surgery. Because of World War II, the 1945 AVMA meeting was canceled, and only a session of the House of Representatives was held. Therefore, it was decided to keep the present roster of officers for the coming year.

Bennett T. Simms  
1946–1947

Bennett Simms graduated from Auburn University in 1911 and went on to do graduate work at the University of Chicago. He took charge of the Department of Veterinary Science at Oregon State University in 1913, and he became widely known for his work on salmon poisoning in dogs and on brucellosis. In 1945, Dr. Simms was appointed chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, and he continued in that position until the Bureau was absorbed by the Agricultural Research Service.

William Arthur Hagan  
1947–1948

Born in Fort Scott, Kan., in 1893, William Hagan graduated from the Kansas State University veterinary college in 1915 and joined the staff of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine the following year as an instructor in pathology and bacteriology. In 1926, he became head of his department and, in 1932, was named the fourth dean of the college, continuing in that position until 1959. Dr. Hagan also contributed to the Department of Agriculture's Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Plum Island. In 1960, he was appointed director of the USDA Agricultural Research Service's National Animal Disease Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

Leslie M. Hurt  
1948–1949

A 1904 graduate of the Iowa State University veterinary college, Leslie Hurt worked for the Bureau of Animal Industry for a short time but soon returned to Iowa State as an assistant professor of phycology. In 1907, he became experiment station veterinarian and professor of veterinary science at Michigan State University. In 1912, he accepted the position of city veterinarian for Pasadena, Calif., and shortly afterward, assumed the duties of livestock inspector for Los Angeles County. In 1924, Dr. Hurt organized the Los Angeles County Livestock Department, serving as chief for more than 37 years.

Clarence P. Zepp Sr.  
1949–1950

Clarence Zepp was born in Pennsylvania in 1892 and taught school for three years before entering the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 1919. In addition to serving as AVMA president, he held terms as president of the American Animal Hospital Association and the New York State Veterinary Medical Society. Following graduation from Cornell, Dr. Zepp entered practice in New York, where he worked for 45 years. He collaborated with Dr. Otto Stader in the early development of the Stader splint.

William M. Coffee  
1950–1951

Born near Paducah, Ky., in 1899, William Coffee graduated from the Indiana Veterinary College in 1918 and served in the Army during World War I, caring for mules and horses being shipped overseas. Dr. Coffee practiced for a year in Louisiana, then returned to Kentucky and established a practice in La Center. Over the years, he built three other clinics employing 45 veterinarians. In addition, he owned a 500-acre cattle and hog farm and the Coffee Chevrolet Co.

John R. Wells  
1951–1952

A 1922 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, John Wells was born in Falls Church, Va., in 1894. He worked at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston for two years, and, in 1925, established a general practice in Palm Beach, Fla. He also served as municipal meat inspector for Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. In 1935, Dr. Wells began focusing on small animal practice in West Palm Beach.

Willard Lee Boyd  
1952–1953

Willard Boyd was born in Batavia, Iowa, in 1883 and graduated from the Kansas City Veterinary College in 1909. After teaching at the KCVC for two years, Dr. Boyd joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota. In 1940, he became chief of the Division of Veterinary Medicine in the College of Agriculture. He was named director of the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1947 when it became an academic unit within the university, retiring in 1951.

Brig. Gen. James A. McCallam  
1953–1954

Born in Philadelphia in 1894, James McCallam graduated from the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the Army Veterinary Corps, and, after serving in a wide variety of capacities, was promoted to colonel in 1943. In three years' time, Dr. McCallam became director of the Veterinary Division of the Office of the Surgeon General, and, in 1948, was promoted to brigadier general, serving as chief of the Veterinary Corps until 1953. He served as an associate editor for the JAVMA and, in 1953, became head of the Washington, D.C., office of the AVMA.

Abner H. Quin  
1954–1955

Abner Quin was born into a veterinary family—his father and two uncles were veterinarians—and he graduated from the Chicago Veterinary College in 1920. After practicing in his hometown of Creston, Iowa, he joined Fort Dodge Laboratories as a field veterinarian, staying there (except for two years in practice in Evanston, Ill.) until 1942. He then took a position with Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories, where he worked until his retirement in 1962. Dr. Quin received the AVMA Award in 1951 for his leadership in public relations.

Floyd Cross  
1955–1956

A 1914 graduate of the Division of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University, Floyd Cross was born in Berthoud, Colo., in 1891. He joined the faculty at Colorado State in 1915, became head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine in 1934, and was dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine from 1948-1956. As dean, Dr. Cross oversaw the development of graduate and research programs, along with enhancements to the veterinary medical degree program. He also coached the freshman football team for 20 years.

Brig. Gen. Wayne Otho Kester  
1956–1957

Wayne Kester was born in Cambridge, Neb., in 1906, and obtained his DVM degree from Kansas State University in 1931. In 1933, he joined the Army Veterinary Corps as a second lieutenant. Serving in the Pacific theater during World War II, he witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1943, he was promoted to colonel, and in 1945, he was transferred to the Air Force as director of the USAF Veterinary Service; he retired in 1957. Dr. Kester was the only AVMA president on active military duty during his presidency. He helped form the American Association of Equine Practitioners in 1954, later serving as AAEP president.

Willis W. Armistead  
1957–1958

A 1938 graduate of what is now called the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Science, Willis Armistead joined the veterinary faculty at Texas A&M in 1940, eventually serving as dean from 1953-1957. He then served as dean at Michigan State University until 1974. In 1973, Dr. Armistead was retained as a consultant by the state of Tennessee to study the feasibility of establishing a veterinary college, and he went on to become the founding dean of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. In 1973, Dr. Armistead became the first veterinarian elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Russell E. Rebrassier  
1958–1959

Born in Louisville, Ohio, in 1890, Russell Rebrassier earned his veterinary degree from The Ohio State University veterinary college in 1914. He worked for the Ohio Agricultural Commission and Lederle Antitoxin Laboratories before returning to Ohio State in 1916 as a professor in the Department of Veterinary Parasitology. He became chair in 1930 and served in this capacity until 1955, when he was appointed assistant dean of the college.

Samuel F. Scheidy  
1959–1960

A 1929 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school, Samuel Scheidy was born in Shartlesville, Pa., in 1907. After graduation, he completed an internship in the university's veterinary hospital and then spent six years in dairy practice before returning to the university as a research associate concentrating on studies of mastitis in cattle. In 1943, Dr. Scheidy became veterinary medical director at Merck Sharp & Dohme and, later, at Smith Kline & French Laboratories.

Elden E. Leasure  
1960–1961

Elden Leasure was born in Solomon, Kan., and received his DVM degree from Kansas State University in 1923. After three years in general practice, he joined the faculty at Kansas State, becoming head of the Department of Physiology in 1944. Four years later, he was named dean of the KSU College of Veterinary Medicine.

Mark L. Morris Sr.  
1961–1962

After receiving his DVM degree from Cornell University in 1926, Mark Morris established a small animal practice in Edison, N.J., in 1928. Convinced that certain diseases in small animals could be managed through proper nutrition, he worked to develop therapeutic pet foods. Dr. Morris joined with the Hill Packing Co. in Topeka, Kan., to can his pet foods, eventually founding Hill's Pet Nutrition. In 1948, Dr. Morris established the charitable Morris Animal Foundation. In addition to serving as AVMA president, he was a co-founder and first president of the American Animal Hospital Association.

Dan J. Anderson  
1962–1963

Dan Anderson, a 1938 graduate of Texas A&M University, and William L. Anderson, a 1953 TAMU graduate, are the only brothers to have served as AVMA presidents. Dr. Dan Anderson practiced in San Antonio before joining Ralston Purina Co. as a bacteriologist. He later returned to Texas, setting up a practice in Terrell, and served in the Army Veterinary Corps with the Meat and Dairy Procurement Division. He became Texas state veterinarian in 1945 but returned to practice a year later, opening a hospital in Fort Worth.

Jack O. Knowles  
1963–1964

A 1938 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school, Jack Knowles served as an Army Air Force veterinarian during World War II, then returned home to practice with his father and brother in Dade County, Fla. Dr. Knowles did considerable work in orthopedic surgery, helping to establish procedures for treating fractured hips in dogs and designing the toggle pin. He was a founding member of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and received the AVMA Award in 1973.

M.R. Clarkson  
1964–1965

After graduation from veterinary school, M.R. Clarkson joined the Department of Agriculture's Meat Inspection Division. During his 34-year career with the USDA, he served as chief of the Inspection and Quarantine Division and as associate administrator of the Agricultural Research Service. In 1965, Dr. Clarkson helped organize the Food and Drug Administration's Bureau of Veterinary Medicine, serving as its first director in 1966. He was executive vice president of the AVMA from 1967-1971. In addition to being a veterinarian, Dr. Clarkson was a lawyer, qualifying as a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Don Harvey Spangler  
1965–1966

A 1931 graduate of the Kansas State University veterinary college, Don Spangler entered general practice in Campbell, Neb., but after three years, joined Norden Laboratories. In 1940, he established a practice in Atwater, Minn., where he worked for 25 years. Dr. Spangler had the distinction of serving on the AVMA Executive Board for 21 years. First elected to the board as a district director in 1960, he accepted the position of AVMA treasurer in 1963 and held that position continuously until 1981. Elected to the office of president-elect in 1964, he served as president from 1965-1966 and as immediate past president from 1966-1967, all while serving as treasurer. It was during his term as treasurer that the AVMA bought its first headquarters building in Schaumburg.

Harry E. Furgeson  
1966–1967

Harry Furgeson received his veterinary degree from Colorado State University and pursued graduate studies in nuclear physics and aerospace medicine. For a year, he served as chief veterinarian of the United Nations' China office in Shanghai, working on re-establishing veterinary disease control programs and livestock restocking programs in China. From 1947-1953, he practiced in Butte, Mont., and from the mid-1950s to 1972, he was a consultant in Anaconda, Mont., and manager of a livestock company encompassing 250,000 acres and supporting 4,400 cows and 10,000 ewes.

Robert J. Schroeder  
1967–1968

After graduating from Colorado State University in 1947, Robert Schroeder spent a year with the federal government's foot-and-mouth disease control program in Mexico, then accepted a position with the Los Angeles County Livestock Department. In 1952, he was promoted to senior veterinarian, and, in 1957, was appointed director of the department. He was a charter diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1961-1966.

Joseph F. Knappenberger  
1968–1969

A 1935 graduate of the Kansas State University veterinary college, Joseph Knappenberger taught veterinary bacteriology at KSU in the 1930s. From 1937-1948, he owned a private practice in Hutchinson, Kan., and then he moved to Olathe, Kan., to work for Ashe Lockhart Inc. When the company merged with Haver-Glover Laboratories to become Haver-Lockhart Laboratories in 1957, he became president, serving for 10 years.

John B. Herrick  
1969–1970

John Herrick received his veterinary degree from Iowa State University in 1946 and spent 35 years as a professor of veterinary clinical science and an extension veterinarian at his alma mater. As chair of the Health Committee of the National Association of Animal Breeders, Dr. Herrick assisted in the development of minimal standards for artificial insemination of cattle in the United States, and he was instrumental in identifying somatic cell count as a measure of milk quality. He also helped organize Iowa's brucellosis eradication program.

Edgar W. Tucker  
1970–1971

Following his graduation from the Cornell University veterinary college in 1941, Edgar Tucker practiced for five years in Concord, Mass. He then joined the New York state mastitis control program as a field veterinarian, and in 1950, became the program's director of laboratories at Ithaca. In 1953, Dr. Tucker returned to private practice in Concord, where he worked until his retirement in 1988. He reportedly was the first veterinarian in New England to perform open-heart surgery for the removal of heartworms in dogs.

John Roger McCoy  
1971–1972

Shortly after graduation, John McCoy served in the Pacific theater during World War II, retiring as a major from the Army Veterinary Corps. He then joined the New Jersey Bureau of Animal Industry, working on tuberculosis and brucellosis control. His research with chemotherapy and therapeutic diets led to his appointment as associate professor at Rutgers University in 1950. Dr. McCoy founded Edgebrook Veterinary Hospital in East Brunswick, N.J., in 1957 and co-founded Bio/Dynamics Inc, a toxicologic testing laboratory, in 1961. Representing District II, he served an unprecedented three terms as AVMA Executive Board chair.

Roger P. Link  
1972–1973

Influential in the development of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Roger Link was its first faculty member, joining the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in 1946. He received his veterinary degree from Iowa State University in 1934 and served on the faculties at Michigan State and Kansas State universities and, for a short time, Northwestern University Medical School in Illinois. A prolific writer, he was co-author of the book "Poisonous Plants of the Midwest."

John F. Quinn  
1973–1974

John Quinn joined the Michigan Department of Agriculture in 1947 and was named head of the Enforcement Section of the Animal Health Division in 1955, and state veterinarian and chief of the Animal Health Division in 1959. Under Dr. Quinn's direction, Michigan was declared brucellosis free and hog cholera free in 1967. In his presidential address to the AVMA House of Delegates, Dr. Quinn talked about the profession's vulnerability to malpractice suits and the decreasing availability of food animal practitioners in some areas.

John B. Carricaburu  
1974–1975

Following his graduation from the Colorado State University veterinary college in 1944, John Carricaburu was commissioned into the Army as a first lieutenant, serving at Fort Lewis, Wash., until 1947. He then went on to establish a mixed animal practice in the Santa Ynez Valley of California, and was the veterinarian for the U.S. Olympic equestrian team for the four years prior to the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He was AVMA president when the Association moved into the first building that it owned, in April 1975.

Harry J. Magrane  
1975–1976

A 1943 veterinary graduate of Texas A&M University, Harry Magrane spent nearly three years with the Army Veterinary Corps during World War II, then entered private practice in 1946 with his father and brother in Mishawaka, Ind. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1969-1974, and was instrumental in the success of the veterinary medical exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Harry A. Gorman  
1976–1977

Harry Gorman earned his veterinary degree from Colorado State University in 1939. He was in private practice for a year in Auburn, Ind., before joining the Army Veterinary Corps. After World War II, he transferred to the Air Force Veterinary Corps. In 1952, the Air Force assigned him to The Ohio State University, where he taught military veterinary medicine and surgery. While there, Dr. Gorman designed the first artificial hip joint for use in dogs and later adapted it for human use. In 1956, he joined the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, where he raised and trained the first animals the United States sent into space.

William L. Anderson  
1977–1978

Born and raised in Rockwall County, Texas, William Anderson received his veterinary degree from Texas A&M University in 1953. After a stint with the Air Force Veterinary Corps, he practiced in Rockwall County, and in 1958, co-founded a practice in the Dallas area. He served on the Texas Animal Health Commission from 1972-1976 and was considered a leader in programs for continuing education.

Vernon L. Tharp  
1978–1979

Following his graduation from The Ohio State University veterinary college in 1940, Vernon Tharp was a field veterinarian with the Bureau of Animal Industry. He returned to Ohio State in 1942 as an instructor in the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Clinics. He served as chair of the Department of Veterinary Medicine from 1961-1970, chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences from 1970-1971, and assistant dean of the college from 1972-1983. Dr. Tharp was formally honored by Ohio State in 1990 when the street in front of the veterinary hospital was named after him.

William F. Jackson  
1979–1980

William Jackson received his veterinary degree from Michigan State University in 1947. He began his career at the University of Georgia but established a veterinary practice in Lakeland, Fla., in 1951. One of the founders of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, he was also a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists. Dr. Jackson served as editor of the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association from 1973-1981. In 1996, he was elected president of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.

Stanley M. Aldrich  
1980–1981

A 1950 veterinary graduate of Cornell University, Stanley Aldrich founded an animal hospital in West Babylon, N.Y., in 1951. For 10 years, he was a member of the New York State Board for Veterinary Medicine. In 1981, he was named New York State Veterinarian of the Year. He received the AVMA Award in 1983, and in 1991, was elected to the National Academies of Practice in recognition of his contributions to the veterinary profession.

Jacob E. Mosier  
1981–1982

Jacob Mosier's career at Kansas State University spanned 47 years. After graduation, he joined the faculty of the KSU College of Veterinary Medicine as an instructor in the Department of Anatomy and the Department of Surgery and Medicine. He was an assistant professor at the University of Illinois–Urbana from 1949-1950, then returning to the KSU Department of Surgery and Medicine. Dr. Mosier served as head of the department from 1961-1981, and in 1985, became director of development for the college. He was a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Paul F. Landis  
1982–1983

Paul Landis graduated from the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school in 1939 and worked in private small animal practice and for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Animal Industry before joining the Army Veterinary Corps in 1941. He established a private practice in Norfolk, Va., in 1946. As AVMA president, he focused on the challenge of government-subsidized veterinary services, the need to expand public relations, and support for the AVMA Political Action Committee. Dr. Landis played a crucial role in the creation of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

Duane T. Albrecht  
1983–1984

After graduating from the Iowa State University veterinary college in 1950 and interning at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston, Duane Albrecht took a position in small animal surgery at Iowa State. From 1952-1990, he was director of the Aspenwood Animal Hospital in Denver, the small animal practice he founded. In 1980, Dr. Albrecht was named Colorado's Veterinarian of the Year. He served for 10 years as secretary for the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine.

Charles R. Rigdon  
1984–1985

A 1951 graduate of the University of Georgia, Charles Rigdon entered the Air Force Veterinary Corps after graduation. He served two years of military service, then began private practice in his hometown of Tifton, Ga. For 38 years, Dr. Rigdon owned DeKalb Animal Hospital, a small animal practice in Tucker, Ga., that he established in 1958. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1977-1983.

Delano L. Proctor Jr.  
1985–1986

Delano Proctor received his veterinary degree from Cornell University in 1942 and served in the Army Remount Service from 1943-1946. In equine practice in Kentucky since 1946, Dr. Proctor was a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He was elected president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners in 1969 and served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1979-1983.

Alton F. Hopkins Jr.  
1986–1987

A Texas native, Alton Hopkins received his veterinary degree from Texas A&M University in 1956. After graduation, he spent five years in practice in Dallas and one year inspecting chicken farms for the Department of Agriculture, before establishing his own practice in Dallas in 1964. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1979-1985. One of Dr. Hopkins' proposals as AVMA president was to separate the "large animal practice" category of representation on several AVMA entities into categories for food animal practice and equine practice.

Richard B. Fink  
1987–1988

From 1944-1946, Richard Fink was part of the Canine Corps in the Army Infantry. He received his veterinary degree from the University of Illinois in 1952 and practiced in the North Hollywood–Van Nuys area of California before establishing a practice in Whittier, Calif., in 1953. In 1988, Dr. Fink was knighted by the Royal Rosarians, ambassadors of good will from Portland, Ore., just before the second session of the House of Delegates held in conjunction with that year's AVMA meeting in Portland. He received the AVMA Award in 1995.

Walter L. Martin Jr.  
1988–1989

After receiving his veterinary degree from Auburn University in 1953, Walter Martin entered small animal practice in Chattanooga, where he worked for the rest of his career. He served as AVMA treasurer from 1981-1987 and served in the AVMA House of Delegates from 1965- 1973 and again from 1977-1980. He was one of the founders of the Animal Hospital Technology Program at Columbia State Community College in Tennessee, the first of its kind in the state.

Samuel E. Strahm  
1989–1990

Immediately after graduating from the Kansas State University veterinary college in 1959, Samuel Strahm entered a mixed animal practice in Hominy and Pawhuska, Okla., where he worked for more than 30 years. He was chair of the National Board Examination Committee and president of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards, and he received the AVMA Award in 1985. In 1992, Dr. Strahm became chair of the AVMA Council on Governmental Affairs, which was instrumental in advancing the Association's legislative effort to legalize extralabel drug use in animals.

Shelton Pinkerton  
1990–1991

A 1954 graduate of Auburn University, Shelton Pinkerton practiced in Troy, Ala., before moving to Pensacola, Fla., in 1961. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1983-1989, and, in 1988, chaired the committee that selected the AVMA's first Congressional Science Fellow. In 1991, Dr. Pinkerton was elected vice president of the World Veterinary Association.

Gerald L. Johnson  
1991–1992

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1956, Gerald Johnson practiced small animal medicine for 11 years in Independence, Mo. He then joined the professional services staff at Haver-Lockhart Laboratories, which later became Miles Inc., retiring in 1993. He was a member of the AVMA Executive Board from 1985-1988. On the board, he was a member of the task force that evolved into the Animal Agriculture Liaison Committee.

L. Everett Macomber  
1992–1993

Born in Oakville, Wash., in 1937 and raised on a dairy farm, Everett Macomber received his veterinary degree in 1963 from Washington State University. Following graduation, he worked as a mixed animal practitioner in Centralia, Wash., for five years before restricting his practice to equine medicine. Dr. Macomber served in the AVMA House of Delegates from 1976-1984 and on the Executive Board from 1984-1990.

Leon H. Russell  
1993–1994

After receiving his veterinary degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1956, Leon Russell received a master's degree in public health from Tulane University in 1958 and a doctorate from Texas A&M University in 1965. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, he has been a professor of veterinary public health, veterinary microbiology and immunology, and food science and technology at Texas A&M. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1985-1991. He was president of the World Veterinary Association from 2005-2008.

David R. Barnett  
1994–1995

A native of Richland, Wash., David Barnett received his veterinary degree from Washington State University in 1957. After graduation, he worked in private practice in Salinas, Calif., for a year, and in 1959, he established a mixed animal practice in Colma, Calif. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1985-1991. Dr. Barnett was instrumental in the move to provide the Student AVMA a seat in the AVMA House of Delegates.

Sherbyn Ostrich  
1995–1996

A small animal practitioner, Sherbyn Ostrich received his veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. During his presidency, Dr. Ostrich worked to implement new rules for funding of AVMA presidential campaigns and to change the process for selecting sites for the AVMA Annual Convention. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1987-1993, and, after completing his term as AVMA president, he accepted a position as executive director of the Pennsylvania Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission.

Mary Beth Leininger  
1996–1997

Mary Beth Leininger received her veterinary degree from Purdue University in 1967, and, for more than 25 years, co-owned Plymouth Veterinary Hospital in Plymouth, Mich. She was the first woman to serve as president of the AVMA. Following her term as president, Dr. Leininger worked as the director of professional affairs at Hill's Pet Nutrition for 10 years, then spent two years as project manager for the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium, a collaborative national initiative to improve veterinary education.

John I. Freeman  
1997–1998

Before his retirement in 1996, Dr. Freeman was thoroughly involved in public veterinary medicine, working as chief of the Environmental Epidemiology Section of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, and heading the Veterinary Public Health Branch of the Division of Epidemiology in the department for 16 years. He also served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the U.S. Public Health Service. Dr. Freeman received his veterinary degree from Oklahoma State University in 1964 and was a member of the AVMA Executive Board from 1989-1995.

Richard C. Swanson  
1998–1999

Richard Swanson received his veterinary degree from Colorado State University in 1960. He originally entered private practice in the Denver area, but, in 1963, left to establish a general practice in Longmont, Colo., where he worked for the next 15 years. After a short stint as a food animal ambulatory clinician at Colorado State, Dr. Swanson opened a large animal practice in Longmont in 1989. He was a member of the AVMA Executive Board from 1988-1994.

Leonard F. Seda  
1999–2000

A food animal and companion animal practitioner, Leonard Seda received his veterinary degree from Iowa State University in 1956. After working in Hudson, Iowa, for a short time, he moved to Victor, Iowa, where he worked for the next 40 years. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1990-1996. In 2000, the AVMA Executive Board approved Dr. Seda's proposal to restructure the board districts to better reflect the distribution of the U.S. veterinary population, sending the plan to the AVMA House of Delegates for approval.

James E. Nave  
2000–2001

Following his graduation from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1968, James Nave served in the Army. After returning to civilian life, he moved to Las Vegas, where he opened multiple veterinary hospitals. During his presidency, Dr. Nave helped to create a mentoring program and worked to establish new AVMA Executive Board districts. He served on the Executive Board from 1991-1997 and co-founded the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues in 2000, serving as its first chair from 2000-2007. He also served as the AVMA director of international veterinary affairs and as North American councilor to the World Veterinary Association.

James H. Brandt  
2001–2002

After graduating from Oklahoma State University veterinary college in 1964, James Brandt worked in small animal practice in Nokomis and Venice, Fla., from 1965-1997. He was elected AVMA president after serving 10 years in the House of Delegates. Dr. Brandt chaired the Architectural Design Committee that oversaw the redesign of the entrance, lobby area, and surrounding landscaping for the AVMA headquarters building in Schaumburg, Ill.

Joe M. Howell  
2002–2003

A 1972 graduate of the Oklahoma State University veterinary college, Joe Howell grew up in rural Oklahoma and practiced veterinary medicine in Oklahoma City for his entire veterinary career. A part owner of Britton Road Veterinary Clinic, a small animal practice in Oklahoma City, he also owned an investment company. Before being elected to the AVMA presidency, Dr. Howell served on the Executive Board from 1997-2000.

Jack O. Walther  
2003–2004

Jack Walther was born and raised on a small ranch near Reno, Nev., and, after receiving his veterinary degree from the University of California-Davis in 1963, he returned to Reno to open an equine practice. He spent two years in the Army Veterinary Corps and the next 35 practicing small animal medicine, building three hospitals in the Reno area. Dr. Walther also served as an adjunct professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Nevada at Reno, where he helped to establish the preveterinary program there.

Bonnie V. Beaver  
2004–2005

Bonnie Beaver received her veterinary degree from the University of Minnesota in 1968 and has been involved in organized veterinary medicine her entire career. She was only the second woman to serve as AVMA president. A professor in the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at Texas A&M University, she was also a charter member of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Dr. Beaver served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1997-2003. Establishing an Animal Welfare Division at the AVMA was a centerpiece of Dr. Beaver's presidency.

Henry E. Childers  
2005–2006

A 1954 graduate of the Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine, Henry Childers became owner and manager of a small animal practice in Cranston, R.I., in 1957. A diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, he also has taught at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Childers served on the AVMA Executive Board from 1998-2004.

Roger K. Mahr  
2006–2007

Roger Mahr owned and operated a small animal practice in Geneva, Ill., for 31 years after receiving his veterinary degree in 1971 from Iowa State University. He was elected to the AVMA Executive Board in 1999, serving six years. As AVMA president, Dr. Mahr made the recommendation that led to the establishment of the One Health Initiative Task Force. This eventually led to the formation of the One Health Commission, which focuses on the connections between human, animal, and environmental health.

Gregory S. Hammer  
2007–2008

After receiving his veterinary degree from Kansas State University in 1973, Gregory Hammer served two years as a veterinary medical officer in the Air Force before becoming a small animal–equine practitioner, eventually establishing Brenford Animal Hospital in Dover, Del. Dr. Hammer served in the AVMA House of Delegates from 1986-1999 and served on the Executive Board from 1999-2005.

James O. Cook  
2008–2009

Shortly after earning his veterinary degree from Auburn University in 1976, James Cook started a mixed animal practice in Lebanon, Ky. Dr. Cook was a member of the AVMA House of Delegates from 1996-2001, when he was elected to the Executive Board, serving from 2001-2007. Dr. Cook was honored as Kentucky Veterinarian of the Year in 1988.

Larry R. Corry  
2009–2010

Larry Corry received his veterinary degree from the University of Georgia in 1966, served two years in the Air Force Veterinary Corps, and then entered private practice, eventually becoming the owner of two small animal practices. He served on the AVMA Executive Board from 2002-2008 before being selected as AVMA president.

Larry M. Kornegay  
2010–2011

After graduating from the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in 1971, Larry Kornegay went into companion animal practice in Houston. In 2003, he was elected to the AVMA Executive Board, serving for six years prior to his election as AVMA president. He has been active in organized veterinary medicine at the local, state, and national levels throughout his career, and has had a particular interest in increasing diversity in the veterinary profession.

René A. Carlson  
2011–2012

A 1978 graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, René Carlson served two terms as AVMA vice president (2004–2006) before her election as AVMA president. She was only the third woman to serve as AVMA president. She also served on the AVMA Council on Education. Dr. Carlson has been in small animal practice since graduation, opening the Animal Hospital of Chetek in 1996.

Douglas G. Aspros  
2012–2013

Douglas Aspros has been a companion animal veterinarian and practice owner ever since his 1975 graduation from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. In 2006, Dr. Aspros was elected to the AVMA Executive Board. He has also served on the AVMA Council on Education, and, for five years, was director of the National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. Dr. Aspros also initiated the New York State Veterinary Medical Society's Leaders 2000, a program to engage and mentor young professionals to take on leadership roles in organized veterinary medicine.
