A veterinarian and mentor recognised for his outstanding contribution to the development of the veterinary profession will be honored at The University of Queensland Gatton Campus on Friday.
Dr Kerry Dowsett will receive the prestigious UQ Gatton Gold Medal and will address graduates at the Friday, December 5 ceremony at 11am in the Campus Gymnasium.
The UQ Gatton Gold Medal is awarded each year to a past student who has made an outstanding contribution in their field.
“To be recognised in such a way by the place where my career began is a very special and great honour that I will treasure for the remainder of my life,” Dr Dowsett said.
“My career in the animal industries began at Gatton College in the 1960's.
“As a young fellow I was exposed to the wonders of working with and learning about science and animal husbandry by mentors like Frank Staunton, Harry Sundstrome and Wally Mason.
“The education and experience that I gained at Gatton College shaped the direction of my future that led me to the Veterinary School and a career in research and teaching that became the corner stone of my life.”
After graduating from the Queensland Agricultural College (which became the UQ Gatton Campus) with a Queensland Diploma in Animal Husbandry in 1963, Dr Dowsett went on to complete his Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 1970 and PhD in 1983 at UQ.
Before joining UQ as a lecturer in veterinary medicine in 1975, he worked as a husbandry officer within the Beef Cattle Husbandry Branch of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries.
He is deeply committed to the training of the next generation of Queensland veterinarians, particularly in the area of equine medicine, continuing to teach and train long into his retirement from UQ in 1997.
Between 1985 and 2004, he supervised the studies of 19 PhD, masters and postgraduate diploma students, based both in Australia and overseas.
He worked as a part-time teacher and trainer for St Joseph’s Nudgee College and the Queensland Racing Training Centre at Deagon and returned to UQ on a part-time basis between 1998 and 2000, teaching first and fourth year veterinary science students in equine husbandry, equine reproduction and equine nutrition.
Dr Dowsett has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles for refereed journals and books and written more than 30 articles for horse industry journals.
He is highly regarded in the industry and was called upon by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries in 2007 to work in the Equine Influenza Veterinary Investigations Section during an EI eradication program.
He has Honorary Life Membership and a Special Award from the University of Queensland Veterinary Student Association and, in 1999, won the Peter Irwin Literary Award from the Australian Equine Veterinary Association.
Aside from his highly successful career as a veterinarian, he is a devotee of Australian Rules football, having been a foundation member of the Brisbane Bears Australian Football Club between 1987 and 1997 and then a foundation member of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club between 1997 and 2008.
Dr Dowsett will return to UQ Gatton to receive his award on Friday, December 5 at 11am in the Gymnasium.
Media: Erin Pearl at UQ Gatton (5460 1229, e.pearl@uq.edu.au)
