Annual Dean’s Impact Award Winners Announced

David Wilson, Vicki Miller and Bobby Colley have been named the recipients of the 2020 Dean’s Impact Awards. The annual awards, established in 1993, honor faculty, staff or individuals from outside of the college for sustained and significant positive impact on CVM programs.

David Wilson, DVM, MS, DACVS, was named the recipient of the faculty Impact Award for his service to the CVM since 1988. Wilson has spent his entire 32-year veterinary career at Mizzou since completing a residency in equine surgery at the University of Illinois in 1988. He began as a clinical instructor of equine surgery, became a full professor in 2006, and has served as service leader for Equine Medicine and Surgery, director of equine research at Middlebush Farm, and associate chair of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. Since 2008 he has led the Veterinary Health Center as the director. A nomination letter for Wilson reads, “Dr. Wilson is a tireless, dedicated individual who is always up for a new challenge. In addition to the primary VHC in Columbia, he has been instrumental in the development of our specialty satellite hospital in Wentzville and our emergency satellite in Kansas City, and continues to provide directorship to both of those hospitals as well. His commitment and continual efforts and attention to these satellites, and to the doctors and staff within, contribute mightily to their success. I would be hard-pressed to find another faculty member who has demonstrated a more enduring love and passion for the University of Missouri’s CVM and the VHC than Dr. David Wilson.”

Vicki Miller was named the recipient of a staff Impact Award for her service to the CVM since 1992. Miller began as an administrative associate, and now serves as a fiscal officer and business administration manager in the CVM. Miller has been touted as the “Dog Whisperer” of the CVM, as she personally trains dogs in agility. In 2019, Schatzi, a dog trained and owned by Miller, won the Master Agility Champion title and was ranked the top German Shepherd dog in the American Kennel Club Agility Invitational competition in Orlando, Florida. One of many nomination letters for Miller reads, “The magnitude of Vicki’s knowledge, skills, integrity, commitment, achievements, clarity of thought, and attributes are the reasons for my nomination of Vicki Miller for the Dean’s Impact Award. I whole-heartedly and without reservation recommend Vicki for the award based on her extraordinary credentials, commitments, and accomplishments.”

Bobby Colley was also named the recipient of a staff Impact Award to recognize his service of more than 30 years in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. Colley serves that department as a gross anatomy teaching support specialist. Colley is known for his attention to detail, outstanding organizational skills and for how well he works with the anatomists in the department. A nomination letter for Colley reads, “Since Bobby was hired, Anatomy Teaching faculty have received over 20 Teaching Awards. Bobby, as an integral part of the Anatomy Teaching Team, deserves part of the credit for each of these awards. It would be a fitting reward for his loyalty and outstanding service that he now be recognized by our college as the 2020 recipient of the Dean’s Impact Award.”