More than 150 people attended as The University of Findlay hosted a public dedication and open house Friday, May 1, at its new Dr. C. Richard Beckett Animal Science Building, located at the University’s Animal Sciences Center on State Route 68.

University president Dr. DeBow Freed praised Beckett for being the "prime mover and initiator" of the pre-veterinary, equestrian and more recently, animal science programs, which together — with 340 in the pre-vet program and 72 in animal science — encompass 20 percent of UF's student body.

Graduating senior Brandon Forshey, a pre-veterinary/biology major who served as barn manager and will attend veterinary school at The Ohio State University, said the hands-on experience he received at UF would give him a "huge head start" in professional school, offering the donors and everyone responsible for the building a "thank you from all of the students in the pre-veterinary program."

“This building is for the students,” Beckett said, adding the celebration was "a little overwhelming ... I feel very honored."

"Being associated with the University has been a wonderful experience, he said, noting that in his 24 years on the board, "the last six years under Dr. Freed have probably been the most enjoyable," praising the president for his leadership and vision.

Other speakers included Dr. F.D. McCarthy, head of the Center for Equine and Pre-Veterinary Studies at UF, who thanked the University’s trustees for their support of the new building, which he described as "just amazing. ... We’re able to have more animals, more diversity,” elevating the program, which already places students in veterinary schools at a rate nearly twice the national average, to among the finest in the country.

University trustee Dr. William Reist, pastor of the College First Church of God, opened with prayer using the first stanza of the Cecil Frances Alexander’s poem All Things Bright and Beautiful, continuing, “We ask your blessing on those who teach and learn and grow here.”

Self-guided tours, with students stationed within the barn to answer questions, were available during the afternoon.
   
The Beckett Building honors the efforts of Dr. Beckett for conceiving and helping to start the pre-veterinary program at the University nearly 30 years ago, and for his unending support of the program since then.

Beckett, who currently serves as chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, is a veterinarian and president/owner of Animal Care Centers of America. He is a founding member of the Hancock County Humane Society and is active in professional, community and church organizations. He received his D.V.M. degree from The Ohio State University in 1960, and was later named an OSU Distinguished Alumnus.

The two classrooms in the Peck-Kerns Academic Wing are named for Dr. Linda M. Peck, D.V.M., director of pre-veterinary studies, and Dr. C. Michael Kerns, D.V.M., professor of animal science.

Peck serves as career counselor for pre-veterinary students and teaches courses in biology and the pre-veterinary major. She has been a full-time faculty member since 1986 and continues to practice as an associate veterinarian with the Findlay Animal Hospital and Findlay Animal Care Center Inc.

Kerns teaches animal handling and various other equine and pre-veterinary medicine courses and is coordinator of the pre-veterinary barn. He is the director of veterinary services and is responsible for preventive health programs and routine medicine and surgery for the animals.

The Beckett animal science building is central to the University’s pre-veterinary medicine program, one of the strongest and most successful academic programs at the University. It replaces the existing 100-year-old pre-vet barn and allows for consolidation of the program’s space and resources.
   
The new building is an attractive, efficient, high-quality, 31,000-square-foot learning environment with two 50-seat classrooms, a laboratory, a pharmacy, a student lounge, locker rooms, offices, instructional demonstration areas, holding pens and other animal servicing areas. In addition to classrooms on site, the new barn offers many benefits the old barn lacked. Automatic waterers were installed in pens, and there are working chutes to move livestock, heated rooms for animals that are sick or giving birth, and a heated bucket washing room to ensure proper washing of equipment.