Three in running to head veterinary lab

Three finalists have been selected in the search for a new director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.

The finalists are:

Mark Ackermann, acting chair, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Iowa State University.

Philip Bochsler, chief of pathology, Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

Hemant Naikare, section head, Diagnostic Bacteriology and Molecular Diagnostics, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory.

The finalists were recommended by a 12-member search and screen committee made up of WVDL staff; University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty, staff and students; and leaders from the state’s agricultural and livestock sectors. Mark D. Markel, dean of UW–Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine, chaired the committee.

The WVDL has an annual operating budget of $9 million and a staff of 75. The laboratory’s mission is to promote animal and human health by providing high quality veterinary diagnostic laboratory services and professional expertise. It serves diverse groups ranging from industry and regulatory agencies to local communities, animal owners and veterinarians. In addition to its main facility at UW–Madison, the WVDL has a branch laboratory in Barron.

More information about the finalists, including their resumes, may be viewed online.

The three finalists will visit the UW–Madison campus in the next few weeks to meet with WVDL staff, members of the campus community and industry stakeholders. Dates for the campus visits are: Naikare, Thursday, March 26; Bochsler, Friday, March 27; and Ackermann, Wednesday, April 8. Each visit will include a public presentation from 9 to 10 a.m. in the multipurpose room of the WVDL, 445 Easterday Lane.

UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, in consultation with the WVDL Board of Directors, will appoint the new director.

Darrell Bazzell, vice chancellor for finance and administration, says the search committee conducted a thorough national search. The WVDL is attached to the vice chancellor’s office for administrative purposes.

“I want to thank committee members for the time, effort and collaborative spirit they brought to the search,” Bazzell says. “They have forwarded a high-quality group of candidates.”

The new director will succeed Thomas McKenna, who served as WVDL director from 2007 until he departed for a new position in Massachusetts in September. Peter Vanderloo is serving as interim director.