Bonnie Rush has been named interim dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, effective immediately. Rush, who is currently serving as acting dean, will continue to lead the college while a national search is conducted to find a new dean.
“As a longtime faculty member, former department head, and as the college’s executive associate dean, I know Dr. Rush understands the specific needs of the College of Veterinary Medicine, and I appreciate her willingness to serve in this important position,” Mason said.
During this interim period, Rush will lead all areas of the college, including its academic, research and administrative functions. The college has three academic departments and is home to a number of prestigious research centers and units, including the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases, Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases, Beef Cattle Institute and the U.S.-China Center for Animal Health.
“I am appreciative and honored to serve as the interim dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine,” Rush said. “I look forward to working with our talented faculty, staff, students and alumni as we continue to work on our initiatives and goals moving forward.”
A professor of internal equine medicine, Rush’s area of clinical expertise is equine respiratory disease with an emphasis on respiratory physiology, immunology and aerosol drug therapy. She co-authored the book ‘Equine Respiratory Diseases, by Blackwell Publishing, with Dr. Tim Mair of Bell Equine Clinic, Kent, U.K.
Rush began her career as a faculty member at Kansas State University in 1993. She served as the head of the clinical sciences department at K-State from 2006 to mid-2017. She has been a core course coordinator, led curriculum reform and maintained responsibility for clinical outcome assessment. She is committed to the scholarship of teaching and has authored or co-authored more than 20 manuscripts in the Journal of Veterinary Education on effective instructional practices, communication training and student welfare.
Rush received the President’s Award for Outstanding Department Head in 2014. She received the 1996 and 2003 Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher Award, the 2002 Pfizer Award for Research Excellence, the 2004 Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year and the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award from Ohio State University.
Rush earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Ohio State University in 1989, completed internship training at North Carolina State University in 1990 and equine internal medicine residency training at Ohio State University in 1993.
Mason said she will appoint a committee to begin a national search for the college’s new dean later this fall.
