Dr. Douglas Freeman appointed WCVM dean

WCVM Dean Dr. Douglas Freeman. Photo: Debra Marshall.

The University of Saskatchewan’s Board of Governors has approved the appointment of Dr. Douglas Freeman as the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s (WCVM) new dean.

Freeman, who begins his five-year term on March 1, 2010, will become the regional veterinary college’s sixth dean in its 45-year history. He will replace Dr. Charles Rhodes, the WCVM’s dean since 2002. Rhodes is retiring after 39 years of service with the college.

“Dr. Freeman’s broad experience, his approachable personality and his collaborative manner will make an excellent fit with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Saskatchewan,” said Brett Fairbairn, the university’s provost and vice-president. “These qualities will serve him well in his new role as one of Canada’s key leaders in veterinary education, animal health, public health and food safety.”

“I am thrilled to be the next dean of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. It is an outstanding veterinary school with tremendous talent in a broad range of programs,” said Freeman. “I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students and friends of the veterinary college in addressing current challenges and opportunities in veterinary medicine.”

During his 26-year career, Freeman has gained a valuable range of experience as a veterinary practitioner, an administrator of clinical and diagnostic services, a researcher and an academic department head. Since 2001, Freeman has been a professor and head of two departments — Veterinary Diagnostic Services and Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences — at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D.

Freeman completed a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, a clinical residency and a Master of Science degree in theriogenology at the University of Minnesota. He received a PhD in reproductive physiology from the University of Idaho and is a diplomate in the American College of Theriogenologists.

Freeman has worked in the clinical science and basic science departments of academic institutions in the United States as well as overseas. His experience also includes private veterinary practice and veterinary professional services in the animal health industry. Freeman is a past president of the American College of Theriogenologists and is a current member of the Board of Directors for the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC).

During his term at North Dakota State University, Freeman served as director of the NDSU’s Great Plains Institute of Food Safety for two years, and led multi-disciplinary research programs in disease surveillance, public health and food safety. He was selected as an American Council on Education Fellow in 2006, and spent one year at the University of Minnesota where he gained experience in academic leadership and administration of the university’s Academic Health Center.