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Division of Facilities News

VET MED 101

Greetings from the College of Veterinary Medicine. As Director of Vet Med Facilities, I was asked to write an article sharing information about our department. As I thought about what I’d like to share with all of you, I could not help but think back to when I began working here in June of 2008. After my arrival on campus, visiting old friends and meeting new colleagues, I was surprised at how little people actually knew about the College of Veterinary Medicine despite its nationally known reputation. It occurred to me this may be a great opportunity to share some history about the college as well as highlight some of the projects we have undertaken recently. I’ll call it “Vet Med 101”.

Kansas State University is one of the oldest Veterinary Colleges in the United States to grant the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. In 1905, the College of Veterinary Medicine was established as the Department of Veterinary Medicine. In 1919, It underwent a name change to the Division of Veterinary Medicine when it separated from the School of Agriculture. In 1943 the name changed one more time to the College Of Veterinary Medicine. In 1963 the Veterinary Medicine Program was designated a college after Kansas State became a University. Today, the College claims that more than 5,500 men and women have been granted a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree.

When the College was first established they held classes in the Armory, which was also called the Farm Machinery Hall. In 1908 Leasure Hall was built at a cost of $70,000. The College stayed in the Armoray until 1955 when Dykstra Hall was built. The College flourished during this time. During the 1970’s, known as “the decade of building”, the College underwent a total transformation. Coles Hall, a research facility claiming 310,495 square feet, was completed in 1972. Then in 1975 Trotter Hall, a teaching facility claiming 98,201 square feet, was completed and it included four absorber chillers and a new cooling tower. In 1978 Mosier Hall, a structure designated to house a teaching hospital and diagnostic laboratory, was completed. It claimed 257,968 square feet. During this building project two centrifugal chillers were installed in the basement of Coles Hall as well as two new cells to the existing cooling tower.

When I began my tenure as Director of Vet Med Facilities I was faced with several challenges as the department was 30 plus years old. Among them was a new roof for Mosier Hall as well as many mechanical systems that were either in need of replacement or intensive maintenance/repairs. After evaluating several needs we established that our most urgent concern was the chill plant in the basement of Coles Hall. It was in dire need of being replaced and relocated. The following includes a list of projects our team has accomplished over the past seven years.

1. 2010 –  Mosier Hall Roof Replacement. This roof was replaced using Obama using        Federal Stimulus Funds ($750,000)

2. 2013 – New Chill Plant with all new chill water coils and valves. This was an Energy Project with Johnson Controls. ($11ML).

3. 2013 NICKS/ICCM Remodel Project on the second floor of Mosier Hall. This was a project to help support the University’s 2025 Vision and included four new AHU’s. ($6.7ML)

4. 2014 Trotter Hall College of Veterinary Medicine Library. ($1.2ML)

5. 2015 Mosier Hall Integrated Research Laboratory. ($1.2ML)

These accomplishments were possible because of the great team we have in Facilities. I would like to thank and recognize my staff for all their hard work and dedication. Maintaining and cleaning the facilities of the College of Veterinary Medicine is a challenging and intense responsibility. The Veterinary Health Center provides care for both small and large animals and requires specialized maintenance that is detail-focused on a daily basis. This is no easy task! I am extremely appreciative of our hard-working staff and their effort to make these facilities clean and operable for the students, faculty, and staff of Vet Med.

Kindest regards,

Allan Leikam, Director of Facilities, College of Veterinary Medicine