![[David Kieltyka in Uganda gorilla sanctuary]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/alum-kieltyka-feature-260x157.jpg)
Endows Scholarship for Students Facing Discrimination Dr. David Kieltyka (say Kell-TIC-ka) has had the kind of life and career from which “triumph over all the odds” books and movies are made. Growing up poor on the South Side of Chicago, he realized a childhood dream through attending the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine...
![[hot air balloons]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/hot-air-balloons-260x157.jpg)
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Awards and Scholarships Celebration was held via Zoom this year. Nevertheless, alumni and student speakers shared their messages with the award winners and generous donors. Here are remarks from two of the speakers, Dr. Ron Gill, owner of Gill Veterinary Clinic in West Salem, Ill., and Dr. Valerie...
![[photo illustration of Dr. Michael McElvaine]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/McElvaine-260x157.jpg)
Created in Memory of Pioneer Advocate By all accounts, Dr. Michael McElvaine, a 1976 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine, made a significant impact on the world. His illustrious professional career was coupled with his far-reaching influence as a mentor, leader, and activist on behalf of diversity in sexuality and gender identity. At his...
![[sophie looking beautiful in long green grass]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ps-sophie-feature2-260x157.jpg)
Gift to Hospital Honors Dog Animal owners are often moved to make a generous gift in gratitude for the lifesaving care delivered at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. The gift Karen Gupta made in recognition of the care provided to Sophie, her golden retriever, is a little different. Sophie passed away August...
![[K.T. Wright, Joe Connor, Peter Constable]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/news-kt-wright-room-260x157.jpg)
EVP room named for K.T. Wright On December 5, Dr. Kenneth “K.T.” Wright thought he was attending an event at which his long-time business partner and friend Dr. Joe Connor would receive an award from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Instead, he himself was the surprise guest of honor at a celebration...
Gift Aids Nursery in Wildlife Medical Clinic Decades before they began their retirements, Patricia and Randall Rushing were already reveling in their golden years. That is, the years spent with their golden retrievers. During their time in Springfield, Ill., the Rushings have lived with and loved five goldens in all: Grimmy, Poppy, Granger, Isabella, and...
Scholarship Supports Area Students Dr. Paul Davis and Dr. Karin Crocker are both proud graduates of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine … 17 years apart. Yet they met, fell in love, and married 170 miles southwest of the Urbana campus in Collinsville, Ill., part of the Metro East region bordering Missouri in...
![[Dr. David Reed in his veterinary hospital]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/gs-reed-feature-260x157.jpg)
‘Don’t Ever Try to Do Anything Small’ When he was a veterinary student at the University of Illinois, Dr. David Reed watched as the bank foreclosed on his family home: the 120-acre farm in Cerro Gordo, Ill., that his father, Paul, had worked since he returned from World War II. The venture taught Dr. Reed...
![[Dr. Tony Kremer]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/gs-tony_kremer-260x157.jpg)
1990 Grad Tony Kremer Supports Scholarships He owns nine veterinary hospitals around Chicago, including a gleaming new general practice center in the Old Town neighborhood that’s believed to be the largest in the city. He owns two more hospitals near Columbus, Ohio. He’s a regular guest on Windy City TV and radio, the preeminent expert...
The year is 1963. Dr. Roger Jaenke has just received his DVM degree from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. At the same time, drumbeats of war are sounding in the distance from a faraway country called Vietnam. “Veterinarians were being drafted into the military,” recalls Lynn Jaenke, his wife of 52 years....