Rao named to chair UW Veterinary School development council

He’s seen firsthand why the School of Veterinary Medicine needs to expand its facilities. Now Kailas J. Rao, a prominent Milwaukee businessman, has signed on to help.

Rao, who has a background in the telecommunications and technology industry, has agreed to chair the school’s Development Council, the group charged with raising $100 million to build a new large-and-small animal hospital and research center. His wife, Becky, has 10 Appaloosa horses and 10 Brittany dogs. For the past 16 years, they’ve been bringing their dogs to the school’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for treatment.

That firsthand experience bolsters Rao’s conviction that a new teaching and research complex is needed.

“You can’t retain or acquire the world’s top-ranked faculty unless you have facilities for them,” he says. “I’ve seen the compassion and love the school’s faculty and students have for pets, and I know they collaborate with the UW Hospital on projects that impact human as well as animal health, but cramped quarters limit what you can do.”

“We’re pleased to have Kailas’ enthusiasm as a guiding force for the SVM’s Development Council,” says Daryl D. Buss, the veterinary school’s dean.

The School of Veterinary Medicine opened its doors in 1983. Since that time, its caseload has mushroomed to 17,000 per year, much more than the 12,000 cases for which the facility was originally designed. Limited space makes it difficult to implement new technology, such as MRI, a linear accelerator for cancer radiation therapy and an underwater treadmill for canine rehabilitation following surgery.v

Despite nationally acclaimed work on cancer, transplant organ storage solution, spinal cord injury, infectious disease such as influenza and more, growth will be limited until new space is available.

“I want to help the school address its cramped quarters, enhance its research, retain and acquire the best faculty, and address the disparity of the young veterinary graduate’s income as compared to other professional degrees,” Rao says.