Interim associate dean named at veterinary college

Thomas W. Vickroy, Ph.D., a pharmacology professor and longtime University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine faculty member, has been named interim associate dean for students and instruction at the college.

Vickroy's appointment came after a national search to fill the position was terminated in August due to a universitywide hiring freeze.

A neuropharmacology professor in the college's department of physiological sciences, Vickroy teaches veterinary pharmacology and small and large animal clinical pharmacology to professional (D.V.M.) students. He also lectures on cellular neurophysiology, molecular and cellular neurobiology, mammalian pharmacology and advanced toxicology, among other topics, to graduate students associated both with the veterinary college and with UF's College of Medicine.

Vickroy has won numerous awards for teaching excellence since he joined the UF veterinary faculty in 1988, among them the National Award for Excellence in College and University Distance Education, given in 2006 by the forensic science program. This program is offered through the graduate schools of both the veterinary college and UF's College of Pharmacy. Other honors include being named the College of Veterinary Medicine's Clinical Sciences Teacher of the Year in 2003ᆘ and the Class of 1996's Teacher of the Year.

Vickroy's appointment was effective Sept. 1. His predecessor in the position, James P. Thompson, D.V.M., Ph.D., had served since 1996. Soon after the present dean, Glen Hoffsis, D.V.M., was hired, Thompson was promoted to executive associate dean. Since that time, he has performed duties associated with both positions.

"I would like to thank Dr. Thompson for his intense commitment to the college during this period of transition and I understand the importance of the associate dean position to the college and our programs," Hoffsis said. "I have full confidence in Dr. Vickroy and his ability to perform the responsibilities associated with this job."