Contact: Maridith Geuder
Photo by: Russ Houston
STARKVILLE, Miss.--In ceremonies Friday [Jan. 19] on the 15-acre Lowndes County farm of Marcia Lane, Mississippi State officially named its first professor to hold an endowed chair funded by the philanthropist.
Dr. Philip Bushby, who has taught in the university's College of Veterinary Medicine since 1987, now holds the title of Marcia Lane Endowed Professor in Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare. The position was created in June with announcement of a $500,000 supporting gift from the California native and animal-welfare benefactor.
The Lane Chair will enable the college to develop collaborative relationships with animal sheltering organizations throughout the state and surrounding region. It also will enhance efforts by Mississippi's only academic program in veterinary medicine to:
--support local spay/neuter programs; and
--develop education outreach programs to introduce area school children to proper care of animals and issues of pet overpopulation.
Bushby said that Lane's generosity will allow him to "contribute to the solution of overpopulation of unwanted pets and to the relief of animal suffering."
The true impact of her generosity "will not be seen in my activities, but in the activities of our graduates, whose education was impacted by this program and who will continue to contribute day after day, year after year, graduate after graduate," he added.
A Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, Bushby currently is service chief of primary care at the college's Animal Health Center, which annually treats approximately 9,000 animals from around the state.
He also has directed the office of educational innovation and, as academic program director, initiated a major curriculum development using problem-based learning.
Bushby was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Ireland in 2000 to further explore the teaching approach. He has made more than 300 presentations at national and international meetings, primarily in the areas of animal surgery and the use of computers in veterinary practice and education.
He also currently serves as president of the Columbus-Lowndes County Humane Society.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information on the Lane Chair, telephone Keith Gaskin at 662-325-3815.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.