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April 13, 2006

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Deborah T. Kochevar as the new Dean of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, effective August 1, 2006.

Dr. Kochevar comes to us from Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where she is Associate Dean for Professional Programs and holds the Wiley Chair of Veterinary Medical Education. She has been on the faculty at Texas A&M since 1987 and served two stints as acting dean in 2004 and 2005. Currently she is Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, with a joint appointment in medical physiology.

Dr. Kochevar graduated Phi Beta Kappa in English and biology from Rice University in 1978 and received a D.V.M. from Texas A&M University in 1981 and a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She was a National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award Fellow in 1984-1986. She also spent a year in Washington, D.C. as a Congressional Science Fellow to the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.

What makes Debbie Kochevar such an exceptional dean candidate is her passion for the educational and scholarly mission of veterinary medicine. She is a great mentor to her students and has received many teaching awards, including the Richard H. Davis Teaching Award, the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award, and the Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching at Texas A&M. She has received numerous grants for education and curriculum development from sources including the National Institute of Environmental Health Science. Her own research interests are primarily in pharmacology and cellular and molecular biology. She has studied osteosarcoma and degenerative joint disease, and received research grants from the USDA and corporate sponsors.

Dr. Kochevar is a national leader in veterinary medicine, currently serving as president of the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology. She has been on the editorial board of the American Journal of Veterinary Research. She is also active in the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and has served as chair and vice-chair of its Councils on Education and Research. We were impressed with Dr. Kochevar during her visit to the Cummings School with the AVMA’s accreditation task force, and we are very excited to have her join us as dean.

I would like to extend a special thanks to the members of the search committee and to all the faculty, students, and staff of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine for their active participation in this search. I would also like to thank Interim Dean Sawkat Anwer for his outstanding service during the transition and former Dean Philip Kosch for leading the school to its current position of strength.

Jamshed Bharucha
Provost and Senior Vice President