Creator: Waldo Keller

Subjects: Anniversaries, Sesquicentennial

Description:

Wally Keller graduated from Ohio State in 1953, then came to MSU and taught in the Veterinary Medicine college for one year before going into the service as a veterinarian in the Strategic Air Command. After returning from the SAC, Keller received his MS degree from MSU in ophthalmology and began teaching surgery courses in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Keller was the first professor who taught surgery over live TV in Giltner Hall. He was appointed as chairman of the Vet Clinic and pushed for specialization in all areas of animal care for both large and small animals. He established formal internship and residency programs in the college.

While he was acting dean, Keller worked to build new clinical facilities and was instrumental in computerizing the entire College of Vet Med. He set up a PPB diagnostic lab and a Food Safety and Toxicology facility. He was also responsible for the 120-acre research facility and containment facility and developed the small animal clinic as well as ambulatory clinics where students traveled to local farms to make calls.

Keller retired for the first time in 1987 but was asked to serve as Dean of the College for ten more years before his final retirement in 1997. Keller also plays trumpet with the Geriatric Six Plus One group.

Topics/People Covered in the Interview include: American Animal Hospital Assoc; Willis Armstead; Wade Brinker; Roger Brown; M Lois Calhoun; E J Catcot; Hillary Clayton; Morrie Crane; Fred Derksen; Food Safety and Toxicology Building; Giltner Hall; John Hannah; "Shorty" Hoffman; Jack Judy; Geriatric Six Plus One; Stanford University Medical School; Bob Leader; McPhail Equine Performance Center; enrollment in vet med; women in vet school; small/large animal ophthalmological surgery; internship/residency programs; ambulatory clinic; PPB diagnostic lab; Seymour Roberts; Art Schultz; Bob Shermer; Esther Smith; John Wesser

Date: October 2, 2001

Collection Number: UA 3

Language: English

Rights Management: Educational use only, no other permissions given. Copyright to this resource is held by Michigan State University and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission of the University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Contributing Institution: University Archives & Historical Collections, Office of the Provost

Relation: Sesquicentennial Oral History Project

Contributor: MSU Archives and Historical Collections