Western University Veterinary Dean Elected President of International Committee

Shirley D. Johnston, DVM, PhD, dean of Western University’s College of

Veterinary Medicine, was elected president of the International Executive

Committee of the International Congress on Animal Reproduction (ICAR) in

Stockholm, Sweden, on July 5, 2000.

The ICAR is an international organization of scientists in animal

reproduction that has convened congresses at four year intervals around

the world since 1948 in order to facilitate international exchange of

information in the area of animal reproduction and biotechnology. The next

congress will be held in August, 2004, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Dr. Johnston is the first woman president of the Executive Committee, and

only the second representative from the United States in ICAR’s history to

serve in this role.

The ICAR is governed by a Standing Committee of representatives from 47

countries; standing committee members from the USA include Dr. Johnston;

and Dr. Rupert Amann, Fort Collins, CO; Dr. Caird Rexroad, Beltsville, MD;

Dr. William Thatcher, Gainesville, FL; and Dr. William Wagner, Washington,

DC.

Other members of the International Executive Committee are Dr. Karl-F.

Weitze, Germany (Vice President); Dr. Gareth Evans, Australia (Secretary

General); and members at large Dr. Hernan Baldassarre, Argentina; Dr. Hans

Gustafsson, Sweden; Dr. Maria Illera del Portal, Spain; and Dr. William

Thatcher, United States.

Dr. Johnston is a graduate of Washington State University (DVM, 1974), the

University of Minnesota (PhD, 1981) and is a diplomate in the American

College of Theriogenologists. She is founding dean of Western

University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, which expects to enroll its

charter class in the fall of 2002.