Page 26 - eclipse - Autumn 2018

RVC HONOURS
RVC awards honorary degrees to two outstanding veterinarians
The RVC has awarded honorary degrees to two internationally recognised veterinarians. Professor Sarah Cleaveland and Dr Willie Reed were celebrated by the RVC for their exceptional contributions to the profession and society.
The awards were presented by RVC Principal, Stuart Reid during the College’s Graduation Ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall in July.
Sarah Cleaveland’s research has pioneered methods for quantifying the burden of human rabies, and has demonstrated the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of
canine rabies elimination.
Her efforts have contributed towards the joint declaration
of a 2030 target for the global elimination of human dog- mediated rabies by the World Health Organization, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and the World Organisation for Animal
Health (OIE).
Professor Cleaveland, of
the University of Glasgow, leads an interdisciplinary research programme in Africa investigating zoonotic and other diseases of livestock. Her career demonstrates
elected to the US National Academy of Medicine, and in 2016 was recognised as a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Willie Reed has also had an illustrious career, serving in the US Secretary of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases, the American Association of Avian Pathologists, the American
Colleges (AAVMC), and the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Research. He is currently the Dean of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine in Indiana.
Dr Reed was recognised by the RVC for his powerful advocacy on behalf of groups underrepresented in veterinary medicine and for his leadership in
a dedication to research capacity-building, and mentoring African students and early career scientists. In 2014 she was awarded an OBE for services to veterinary epidemiology, in 2015 she was
Stuart Reid, CBE
Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, the American Association of Veterinary Medical
As role models for our own graduates, I can think of no more inspirational people than Professor Cleaveland and Dr Reed.
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Not only have they excelled in “
veterinary medical education and research. He adds his honorary degree to the Iverson Bell Award of the AAVMC. This was awarded for promotion of diversity across the profession and in shaping the veterinary student population at Purdue in particular. He was also awarded a Title IX award from his own university for his efforts to promote gender related issues.
Upon presenting the awards, Stuart Reid said: “We are honoured to be able to recognise two outstanding colleagues who have contributed so much to the development of our discipline.
their scientific fields of endeavour, but they have also demonstrated that veterinarians can change the world through commitment to the societal priorities of protection from disease of the world’s poorest people, and the promotion of equality, equity, and diversity for all. As friends and collaborators of the RVC, it is our privilege to be associated with them as our newest honorary graduates”