UF College of Veterinary Medicine names 2004 Distinguished Award winners

A veterinarian active in college alumni affairs, a world-renowned wildlife disease expert and an individual who pioneered key large animal reproduction programs are among those to be honored through the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s 2004 Distinguished Awards program.

The program spotlights distinguished alumni, faculty and friends of the college. Three awards are given annually: one for alumni achievement, one for distinguished service and one for special service.

The awards will be presented during the college’s May 29 commencement ceremony at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on the UF campus.

Richard Kane, D.V.M., a member of the college’s Class of 1984, will receive the Alumni Achievement Award. Kane, a mixed-animal practitioner from Brandon, Fla., owns Care Animal Hospital and the Equine Surgi-Center, a referral facility for horses. Kane serves as president of the college’s Alumni Council and has also been active in charitable organizations in the Tampa area. He received the Hillsborough County Veterinary Medical Association’s community service award in 1999 and was voted Business Leader of the Year by the county’s Chamber of Commerce in 1995.

Donald Forrester, Ph.D., a professor emeritus of infectious diseases, will receive the Distinguished Service Award. Forrester, who is internationally respected for research relating to diseases of wild birds and mammals, has been a member of the UF faculty since 1973 and with the college since its inception. His book, Parasites and Diseases of Wild Mammals in Florida is a benchmark reference in this area, and his new book on Parasites and Diseases of Birds in Florida, coauthored with his colleague, Marilyn Spalding, D.V.M., Ph.D., was published last year to rave reviews. Forrester, who retired in December, has taken an active role in college committee work and was instrumental in the development of the college’s graduate program. This year’s Special Service Award winner is Wyland Cripe, D.V.M., an associate professor emeritus of rural animal medicine at the college.

In 1983, Cripe and colleague Maarten Drost, D.V.M., also now retired from UF, produced the world’s first water buffalo calf through embryo transfer technology. This landmark achievement led to production of the first buffalo calves in Europe. Cripe was a member of the charter class at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of California/Davis and served for a time as dean of students for his alma mater. He came to the UF veterinary college in 1974 as an assistant professor and served as assistant dean of students and public services from 1974-1987. He retired in 1989 and continues to consult worldwide on water buffalo production and reproduction.