Kelly appointed Vet School dean

University President Judith Rodin announced yesterday that Alan Kelly has been named permanent dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, where he has been serving as acting dean since Jan. 1. Kelly will be the first veterinary school dean in North America with an endowed post, according to a University statement. Kelly said he was "delighted" with the decision. "I recognize there's a wonderful challenge ahead of us, and I recognize there's wonderful support from the central administration," he said. In the statement, Rodin noted Kelly's achievements as acting dean. "Alan's stewardship as acting dean has been exemplary," she said. "In a brief period, he has guided the School of Veterinary Medicine through the continuing challenges it faces and worked to create a sense of optimism and collegiality across the entire School." Leon Weiss, chairperson of the Department of Animal Biology, praised the appointment. "I'm pleased with it," Weiss said. "I think he's had a good deal of experience. He's been a vigorous dean, he's been an active dean. He's taken care of a lot of problems at the school beautifully." Kelly said the debt veterinary students incur "is probably the first priority the school has to address." He noted that tuition at the University's Vet School is the highest of any in the country. "Too many students are graduating with much too high a level of indebtedness," he said. Weiss praised Kelly's handling of this issue. "He's been trying to ease the students' financial burden," he said. A related funding issue is the annual non-preferred appropriation the University receives from the state, which amounts to about $35 million per year. Of this, the Vet School collects about $14.8 million, which Kelly said constitutes about 40 percent of the school's budget. "It was this issue that threatened the school with closure several years ago," he said. At that time, Governor Bob Casey wanted to discontinue non-preferred appropriations. Had this occurred, Kelly said, the Vet School would not have been able to survive. He said other issues he hopes to address include fostering research and advancing the curriculum. Kelly, a native of Scotland, received his doctorate in pathology from the University in 1967 and has been a faculty member since 1968. Before accepting the position of acting dean, Kelly was chairperson of the Department of Pathobiology. The Executive Committee of the University's Board of Trustees is likely to approve Kelly's appointment at its next meeting on Dec. 9. The Vet School, which was founded in 1884, is the second oldest in the United States.