November 18, 2022
College of Veterinary Medicine presents annual teaching awards
Three faculty members have been recognized for preclinical teaching excellence in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. Lynn Abel, Brian Herrin and William Whitehouse were each named as the top teachers for the first, second and third years of instruction, respectively, as voted on by the students they taught in the 2021-2022 school year.
"We were thrilled this year to recognize three professors who are all first-time recipients of our annual teaching awards," said James Roush, associate dean for academic programs and student success. "Drs. Abel, Herrin and Whitehouse are dedicated teachers who provide our students with unique, professional perspectives in their classrooms. They each engage closely with their students to help ensure academic success and their mastery of important veterinary principles."
Abel was presented with the 2022 Boehringer Ingelheim Teaching Excellence Award in recognition of outstanding instruction of first-year veterinary students. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at K-State in 1998. Abel is a clinical assistant professor in the anatomy and physiology department. Outside of the college, she is the owner and practitioner of the Riley Animal Clinic.
"Thank you to the class of 2025," Abel said. "I strive to cultivate and encourage success, in each and every student. I'm quite surprised and humbled for being chosen for this award."
Herrin was named recipient of the 2022 Elanco Teaching Excellence Award, which is presented in recognition of outstanding instruction of second-year veterinary students. Herrin received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2014 and a doctorate in parasitology in 2016, both from Oklahoma State University. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists under the subspecialty of parasitology. He is an assistant professor in the diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department, where he teaches the clinical veterinary parasitology course for second-year veterinary students and the parasitology portion of fourth-year clinical rotations.
"It's such an honor to be nominated for this award," Herrin said. "It was so much fun working with the Class of 2024 last year. I definitely want to acknowledge that this course couldn't happen without the great team members of our parasitology group. It takes everyone's collective effort to develop the labs and materials that the students enjoy in our course."
Whitehouse was chosen as recipient of the 2022 Merck Animal Health Teaching Excellence Award, in recognition of outstanding instruction of third-year veterinary students. Whitehouse earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2010 from the University of Georgia and completed an internship at the University of Illinois and a residency at the University of Wisconsin. He currently teaches the medicine II course to third-year veterinary students and small animal internal medicine to fourth-year students.
"Of all of the things I get to do at K-State, getting to work with the students is by far my favorite," Whitehouse said. "The curriculum is pretty arduous since they have to learn so much in such a short time, but there is a lot about veterinary medicine that is really cool and rewarding. I try to bring perspective and relevance to the information they are learning, and it's awesome seeing them get excited about what they are doing and succeed. I'm incredibly honored and humbled by this award and want to thank the Class of 2023."