Food animal medicine professor named department chair

Carlos Risco, D.V.M., a professor and food animal medicine and reproduction specialist at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, has been appointed chair of the college’s department of large animal clinical sciences, effective Sept. 1.

Risco, a board-certified theriogenologist whose primary interest is dairy medicine, will succeed David Freeman, M.V.B., Ph.D., in the position. A professor of large animal surgery who has served as interim department chair since 2009, Freeman will return to his position on the college faculty.

As chair, Risco will be responsible for faculty recruitment, mentoring and promotion, as well as budget management and instructional activities. He also will provide leadership in the areas of research, veterinary and graduate student education, clinical resident and intern training, and outreach. Risco will work closely with the chief of staff of the UF Veterinary Hospitals to ensure high-quality clinical service, and will liaise with the scientific communities of both the UF Academic Health Center and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

A member of the veterinary college’s first graduating class of 1980, Risco performed an internship at Chino Valley Veterinary Associates, a large dairy practice in Ontario, Calif., immediately following his graduation. He became a partner in that practice after completing his internship in 1981. Risco joined the UF veterinary faculty in 1990 as an assistant professor and was promoted to full professor in 2002.

During his tenure at UF, Risco has received many awards and honors for his teaching and research. In addition to several awards given by UF veterinary students, Risco also received the UF Blue Key Distinguished Faculty Award for teaching research and the Carl Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teaching Award from the college. He was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar in Argentina in 2004 and was honored by the college’s Alumni Council with its annual Alumni Achievement Award in 2005.

He is an internationally recognized lecturer on dairy cattle production medicine.

“Dr. Risco brings a wealth of experience in large animal and a new vision to the leadership of the department,” said the college’s dean, Glen Hoffsis, D.V.M.