UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine

'Leading, Learning, and Loving'

University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary Medicine Building (study lab)
2015 Linden Dr, Madison, WI 53706

24'x4' Acrylic mural on aluminum panels

Check out this article about the project featured on the University of Wisconsin-Madison school of veterinary medicine website: https://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/leading-learning-and-loving/

THE ONE THAT STARTED THEM ALL

This project started as an invitation to keynote for the 2022 Iverson Bell Midwest Regional Diversity Summit, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Veterinary College. The summit is named after the first African American veterinarian to hold the position of Vice President in the American Veterinary Medical Association. The main goal of the summit is to promote diversity and inclusion in veterinary medicine, with special attention to academia.

The invite came from Richard Barajas, then Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Veterinary College, who said many students had an idea to do a mural that they felt would show more diverse representation for their school community. 

The plan was, through my process, to offer students, faculty and staff a chance to acknowledge the challenges their community faces, to ways those could be made better, and finally, what the future would look like as a result of those choices.

These photos show some of that process. The mural uplifts the school's strengths, shows what people are proud about, some of their hopes and dreams, and a sprinkle of magic and inspiration that came when I was interacting with them. I just saw their passion and heart for what they do, and was immediately drawn in by their commitment and caring.

Though relatively small in footprint, the spirit of this mural had a big impact on people in the community who had a chance to participate in it. We planned the community painting to happen during the conference, so that as soon as I finished the keynote people who wanted to could head over to the room where the mural panels were prepared to be filled in with solid colors.

To my joy and surprise, people beat me there; the room was a 15 minute walk and by the time I got there there had to be at least 30 people with heads bent down, bodies leaned over the boards, arms and hands moving in focused, intentful motion (like surgeons, can you imagine? Some of them were!). This brought so much joy to my heart I could hardly contain it. I mean, here were veterinary professionals - surgeons, heart specialists, all manner of practices, students'; in their business or clinical attire, painting a mural together. 

And they were smiling! And laughing, and talking, and pointing out areas they did... and nobody needed a single instruction from me, as I recall; they simply knew what to do from watching 'Rockford Taking Flight', which I'd screened as part of the keynote. They took notes! It's funny to me, the seriousness with which they took part, but what heart. 

And this sparked a movement, from what people were telling me and what I saw, where other veterinary schools wanted to do the same thing, to honor their unique communities. The mural was featured on the 2023 cover of the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA Vol. 261: Issue 7). This led to working with the AAVMC. That turned out to be a major undertaking because we had to figure out how to involve Deans of veterinary colleges from all over the world together to participate in painting. It would be my first trans-state project and first time facilitating a workshop for an executive leadership board. 

In all, this journey has been an incredible honor, and it all started in my homestate, with the University of Wisconsin Madison. It was truly an honor to be invited into such a reputable community and work together with these remarkable leaders.