Ralph Richardson

  • It's official: Disease lab approved for Manhattan (Kansas)

    Posted: January 12th, 2009 - 9:24pm by Doug Powell

    Kansas? Why would you go to Kansas?

    That’s the question I repeatedly received back in 2006 when I officially made the move. Sure, Amy was a great draw, but the lack of a hockey arena and the distance to the airport were significant detriments.

    The community, both at Kansas State University and Manhattan, was fairly inviting. They’re not sure what to make of me walking around with a baby strapped to my belly, but every place has its quirks.

    I just wanted to be in an environment where I could give 110 per cent, cause there’s no I in team. I just wanted to be someplace where I could do my thing.

    So when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security finalized its decision today to approve a site at Kansas State University for a $450 million lab to study livestock diseases and some of the world's most dangerous biological threats, I wasn’t surprised.

    DHS released its final record of the approval Monday, confirming a decision announced in December to build the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility at the Manhattan, Kan., campus to replace an aging lab at Plum Island, N.Y.

    Ralph Richardson, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State (right), told USA Today today that the lab can be operated safely.

    "This country is in great need of a modern laboratory for animal diseases.”

    And Manhattan (Kansas) is the best place for it.
     

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    K-state, Kansas State University, Nbaf, Ralph Richardson
  • Vet shortage threatens food system: what Kansas State is doing

    Posted: March 7th, 2008 - 2:06pm by Doug Powell

    A shortage of veterinarians who treat farm animals is, according to USA Today, stressing the nation's food inspection system, prompting the federal government to offer bonuses and moving expenses to fill hundreds of vacancies.

    There is a severe shortage of veterinarians who treat farm animals or work as government inspectors. The scarcity is most severe in the USA's Farm Belt, the lightly populated rural areas in the Midwest that produce much of the nation's meat.

    Gregory Hammer, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association says,"

    "We're in a crisis situation. We don't have enough rural veterinarians to be a first line of defense against animal diseases."

    The number of vets needed will grow by 22,000 by 2016, making it one of the fastest-growing professions, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

    The nation's 28 veterinarian schools produce 2,500 graduates a year, a number that hasn't changed in three decades. Baby boomer retirements — especially among farm vets — hasten the shortage.

    Ralph C. Richardson (right), dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University and all-around cool guy wrote in today's USA Today today that

    The Kansas Legislature, in concert with the veterinary college at Kansas State University, has established "The Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas" as a way to ensure an adequate number of veterinarians practicing in rural Kansas.

    It allows a veterinary student to borrow $80,000 over a four-year period while in college. After graduation, $20,000 worth of educational debt is forgiven for every year up to four years that these new graduates practice in rural Kansas. This opportunity is granted to five KSU veterinary students every year.

    The VTPRK allows new graduates to establish themselves in underserved areas without worrying about paying back large educational debts.

    Kansas and Kansas State University are committed to keeping rural America thriving and to ensuring the safety of the urban food supply.
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    Kansas State University, Ralph Richardson, Veterinarian