When Dr. Eleanor Green moved on from her position as dean of Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, a search for her replacement quickly began.
This search came to a conclusion when Dr. John August was selected first as the temporary dean on July 1 and then appointed full-time dean on Sept. 9. August is in his second month of what will be a two-year term as the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, or CVMBS.
Having served in many administrative positions on campus in the past, as well as being an accomplished veterinarian himself, August said he looks to use those experiences to help guide him in his new position.
“I want to properly use my other administrative experiences to help strengthen our
college,” said August. “I learned a lot in the Dean of Faculties Office, I learned a lot in the School of Public Health, and I want to make sure that I don’t waste those experiences in helping to guide the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.”
Previously serving as the interim dean of the School of Public Health, August said that opportunity prepared him well for his new role.
“For me, it was a great apprenticeship for assuming this position,” August said.
A new Small Animal Hospital was a project begun by the previous dean, and August said he would like to start developing the detailed plans required for the center’s construction soon.
“I want to make sure that by the time I leave, we have well-developed plans for a new
Small Animal Hospital. That is of major importance. Amazing work gets done in our Small
Animal Hospital, but it is very outdated in design and much smaller than it should be,” August said. “We are currently exploring our new Small Animal Hospital as a next-generation Small Animal Hospital, building a facility that perhaps more closely resembles the concept of a human medical center.”
Dr. Kenita Rogers, executive associate dean, said August’s experience within the vet school both in administrative capacities and as a professor in the teaching hospital makes him a good fit for his new position as he understands the complexity of the vet school’s operations.
“Not only is he a veterinarian, but he’s one that has worked [at] a lot of different levels within this college,” Rogers said.
Having known August for many years during times when their work overlapped, Rogers has been able to see August take on different administrative challenges all over campus.
“Through all those experiences and more [he] has really developed into a premier administrator. He’s very, very good at it, and we’re really lucky to have him,” Rogers said.
Elizabeth Crouch, Ph.D., associate dean for undergraduate education, emphasized the importance of August’s previous involvement within the vet school in his new position as dean.
“He has a history with the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, so he knows our mission, he knows our people, he knows the things that we’re proud of and endeavoring to do,” Crouch said.
August’s variety of administrative roles in many different areas at A&M have given him many gifts and experiences that will lend themselves to taking on new challenges at the vet school, said Crouch.
“I think that when you’ve been at Texas A&M as long as someone like him, and you’ve been in the other positions that he’s been in, then each one of those positions teaches you something and gives you something that you then bring forward to your next role, in terms of advocating for faculty, for [the] Center of Teaching Excellence in terms of quality of education,” Crouch said. “Each one of those things contributes and builds up to basically give him some wonderful gifts in terms of leading this college.”