Kautz Receives Highest Veterinary School Honor

Faculty and fourth-year students of the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences named Kira Kautz recipient of the 2007 Dean Clarence H. McElroy Award. The award, the most prestigious award bestowed on graduates of veterinary medicine, is based on high academic achievement, leadership and outstanding clinical proficiency.

Kautz plans to enter private practice in her hometown of North Platte, Neb., as the third veterinarian in a mixed animal practice working mostly on equine, bovine and small animal cases.

Friendly, helpful communication with CVHS led Kautz to choose OSU. “When my grandpa and I came to visit, everyone was so helpful and really went out of their way to make us feel welcome,” she says.

Jankowski Receives Dean Orr Award

Gwen Jankowski, class of 2008, is this year’s recipient of the Dean Harry W. Orr award.

Established in honor of the second dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Orr award recognizes high academic achievement and is given to a third-year veterinary student based on academic performance during the first two years of the professional curriculum.

“The faculty is very encouraging and helpful. The opportunity to communicate with and bond with some of the most intelligent people around is one of the greatest things about this school.”

Kautz was on the Dean’s Honor Roll, was active in several student organizations and served as an ambassador for the CVHS as well as the 2007 class representative. She also volunteered at the Tulsa State Fair and Highland Park Elementary School.

“I am so honored to be the recipient,” Kautz says. “Not only have I achieved my goal of becoming a veterinarian, I have done it in a wonderful program with fantastic people surrounding me. I am truly blessed.”