News Release

K-State business researchers to help with major study on food supply veterinary medicine

Grant and Award Announcement

Kansas State University

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- Veterinarians play an important role in ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply through their work with food supply animals.

Now, three researchers in Kansas State University's College of Business Administration will help a newly formed coalition of food supply veterinary interest groups determine methods to ensure adequate veterinary involvement in the production of a continuing abundant supply of safe and wholesome food.

The $300,000 study, "Estimating Food Supply Veterinary Medicine Demand and Maintaining the Availability of Veterinarians in Careers in Food Supply Related Disciplines in the United States and Canada," is being commissioned by the Food Supply Veterinary Medicine Coalition and Bayer Animal Health. The coalition's members include the Academy of Veterinary Consultants, American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, American Veterinary Medical Association and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

The study is being led by K-State's David Andrus, professor and head of the department of marketing, with Bruce Prince, professor of management, and Kevin Gwinner, associate professor of marketing.

"Food supply veterinary medicine encompasses all aspects of veterinary medicine's involvement in food supply systems, from traditional agricultural production to consumption," Andrus said.

"This comprehensive study will be comprised of multiple research phases addressing the demand for and the availability of food supply veterinarians in the United States and Canada," he said. "Additionally, the project will address student recruitment, retention and appropriate training of food supply veterinarians in order to serve society."

Andrus said the study is expected to be complete by late summer 2005.

"This study will have profound and lasting effects on food supply veterinary medicine and it is hoped that it will serve as a framework for planning for the future," said Dr. Rod Sydenham, chair of the Food Supply Veterinary Medicine Coalition.

"This study also will provide valuable information for admissions officials and faculty of veterinary colleges for recruiting and training the type of students likely to pursue a career in food supply veterinary medicine," said Dr. John Thompson of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

Andrus' areas of research include marketing professional services, marketing education and international marketing. He has received honors for his work, including the 2002 outstanding paper award from the Marketing Educators' Association for the paper he co-wrote, "Faculty Perceptions of a Successful Marketing Department Head." Andrus has taught a variety of marketing courses, including international marketing, marketing management, marketing research and services marketing.

Prince also is an award-winning researcher. Among his research interests are the organizational context of individual careers, opportunity structures and organizational commitment and promotion and transfer practices and human capital development. He received the Cason Hall Publishing Company Careers Division Best Paper Award at the 2001 meeting of the Western Academy of Management. Among the courses he teaches are human resource management, organizational behavior and performance management and compensation.

Gwinner, who teaches marketing management and services management and a course for K-State's master of business administration program, has research interests in improving and management of the performance of front-line, customer-contact employees, consumer-to-consumer interactions via the internet, consumer relationship benefits and corporate sponsorship of sporting events. He is a recipient of K-State's 2004 Commerce Bank Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award.

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