More than 200 alumni gathered in Athens in early March for the CVM’s 55th Annual Veterinary Conference and Alumni Weekend. The two-day event featured not only 15 hours of continuing education, but a celebration of the 50th class reunion of the class of 1968 and the announcement of the 2018 Alumni Award winners.
The Friday luncheon celebrated the alumni award winners. This year, the Young Achiever Award went to Dr. Brent Credille (DVM ’08), and the Distinguished Alumni Awards were given to Dr. Sheila McGuirk (DVM ’77) and Dr. Jack Sexton (DVM ’78). Each year, nominations are taken for the two awards and the alumni board reviews and selects winners based on nominee’s contributions in public service, professional service, research, contributions to the local community, state or nation, involvement in veterinary associations, and participation to the CVM Alumni Association.
2018 Young Achiever Award
Brent Credille, Class of 2008
Brent Credille is an assistant professor in the department of population health, food animal health and management program at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine. A clinical bovine veterinarian and specialist in beef production medicine, he received his DVM from UGA in 2008. After graduation, he practiced as a large animal ambulatory veterinarian for two months before completing an internship in livestock medicine and surgery at Colorado State University. He returned to UGA in 2009 as a resident in Large Animal Internal Medicine and was awarded his Ph.D. in physiology/pharmacology in 2014. He joined the faculty of the CVM in 2013.
Dr. Credille engages in service, teaching, and research, making significant contributions to all three areas. He works closely with producers, local veterinarians, and the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association to provide continuing education and beef production medicine service, conducting over 375 farm visits since his hire at UGA and giving more than 80 presentations on health-related topics to cattlemen’s groups across the state. He has recently taken on the three-year role of field services section head at the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
Also, his commitment to teaching is very strong. He is coordinator or co-coordinator for nine courses taught in the College, as well as a regular lecturer for 16 additional courses. He has served as major professor for Ph.D. and Master of Food Animal Medicine students, and he has mentored DVM students in clinical rounds, in the Georgia Veterinary Scholars Program, and on clinical service trips.
Dr. Credille’s accomplishments in research are also exceptional. He has been principal or co-investigator on grants totaling over $360,000. He has authored or co-authored 18 peer-reviewed publications and has made significant contributions in the areas of antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and antimicrobial resistance in Mannheimia haemolytica.
2018 Distinguished Alumni Awards
Sheila McGuirk, Class of 1977
Sheila McGuirk has had a long and distinguished career in veterinary medicine, one that began when she received her DVM from the University of Georgia in 1977. From UGA, she went on to complete her internship at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. She then moved to Columbus, Ohio where she completed a residency (food animal medicine and surgery), postdoctoral fellowship (physiology and pharmacology) and received a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology from the Ohio State University between 1978 – 1985.
She became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 1982 and has been active in several professional organizations such as the AVMA, the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and the Wisconsin Veterinary Medicine Association.
Dr. McGuirk joined the faculty in the department of medical sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983, where she is currently an emeritus professor. She has received numerous accolades and honors over her 35-year career. To name a few, she was awarded the Walter Renk Distinguished Professor Award in 1994 and was the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Distinguished Teacher of the Year in 2016. In 2000 and 2016, she was named Veterinarian of the Year by the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association.
As a large animal veterinarian, Dr. McGuirk has taught classes ranging from dairy science to public health and biosecurity. Her clinical instruction covered large animal medicine, food animal surgery, and food animal production medicine. Her clinical research support includes over 47 grants since 1986, over 200 refereed and non-refereed journal articles, and more than 150 invited presentations all over the world.
Jack Sexton, Class of 1978
Jack Sexton is a small animal practitioner and co-owner and medical director of McLean Animal Hospital in McLean, Virginia. He has practiced in McLean since 1979, earning a staunchly loyal client base thanks to his dedication to helping save beloved pets and his responsive, positive manner.
He is active in the community and has held leadership positions in state and regional professional organizations. He served on the Fairfax County (VA) Animal Shelter Advisory Committee and has been involved with the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine’s Teaching Hospital Advisory Committee and in their mentorship program. Also, he is the past president of both the Northern Virginia Veterinary Medicine Association and the Virginia Veterinary Medicine Association.
Dr. Sexton holds a BS and MS in Veterinary Science from the University of Maryland and his DVM from the University of Georgia.