AASV Announces 2010 Officers

March 10, 2010 — Tracy Ann Raef

Dr. Paul Ruen was installed as the president of the AASV at the association's annual meeting in Omaha, Neb. He succeeds Dr. Butch Baker who is now immediate past president. Dr. Randy Jones has ascended to president-elect. The newly elected vice president is Dr. Tara Donovan.

AASV President Dr. Paul Ruen (MN '92) is a practitioner at the Fairmont Veterinary Clinic in Fairmont, Minn., a predominately swine practice that also provides management services to clients. Active in the AASV since 1988, Dr. Ruen was a district director on the AASV Board of Directors from 2005 to 2008. He was elected vice president in 2008, serving a one-year term and ascending to the office of president-elect in 2009. During the 2002 International Pig Veterinary Society meeting in Ames, Iowa, Dr. Ruen served on the Production and Management Scientific Committee. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer at the AASV annual meetings and the Leman Conference in Minnesota. Dr. Ruen grew up in southeastern Minnesota on a diversified livestock and grain farm.

During his term, Dr. Ruen plans to keep the AASV focused on providing its members with the educational tools necessary for professional growth and leadership. He believes it is vital that the AASV continues to be a conduit for sharing knowledge and fostering novel approaches to eliminating the devastating impact of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS). Dr. Ruen wants the public to know that the AASV supports the use of science and practice to improve food safety and pig health. Because health is connected to animal well-being, Dr. Ruen believes swine veterinarians should work closely with pig farmers to demonstrate a high level of pig care to the public. Pigs raised for the benefit of society are also pigs raised with awareness that resources are scarce and proper stewardship demands efficient production.

AASV President-Elect Dr. Randy Jones (NCSU '85) is the owner and operator of a veterinary practice limited to swine health and medicine in Kinston, N.C. Prior to that, he was a mixed-animal practitioner for nine years. A member of the AASV since 1985, Dr. Jones was serving his second term as an AASV board member representing southeastern United States before his election to the office of vice president. He is a former president of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association, and active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Jones grew up on a cow-calf farm in western North Carolina.

AASV Vice President Dr. Tara Donovan (KSU '98) is the Vice-President of Veterinary Management for The HANOR Company, one of the country's top pork producers with operations in six states and over 500 employees. After joining the company 10 years ago as a herd veterinarian, her responsibilities now encompass integration among all aspects of pork production in addition to the traditional role involving production, research and development.

Since joining the AASV as a student member in 1996, Dr. Donovan has been active on several committees including chair of the Human Health and Safety Committee. She recently served on the association's Influenza Working Group. She has also been an active member of several working groups for the National Pork Board and a member of the National Pork Producers Council Antibiotic Working Group.

A native of central Nebraska, Dr. Donovan grew up on a diversified farm and was involved in 4-H and Future Farmers of America. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and earned her DVM from Kansas State University where she also completed a food animal medicine internship in 1999. She is a 2009 graduate of the Executive Veterinary Program at the University of Illinois.

Immediate Past President Dr. Rodney "Butch" Baker (AUB '78) is a senior clinician in the Food Supply Veterinary Services Unit at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to joining the staff at Iowa State in 2006, he was a clinical associate professor at North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Baker's career in veterinary medicine began as a mixed-animal practitioner in Kentucky. After 17 years in private practice, he spent a year in the animal health industry, four years with a pig breeding-stock company and three years as director of health assurance in a large integrated pork production company.

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Tracy Ann Raef, Communications Specialist, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University