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Dr. Bruce W. Little is executive vice president of the American Veterinary Medical
Association, Schaumburg, Ill.
He earned a bachelor's degree in veterinary science in 1963 and a DVM in
1965, both from K-State.
Dr. Little has more than 20 years experience as a practicing veterinarian
with experience in both food animal and companion animal practice environments. He
owned and operated the Americana Animal Hospital in Bloomington, Ill. from 1969 to 1985, a
practice which evolved from a mixed practice, predominately large animal, to a 90 percent
small animal and 10 percent equine practice. Prior to that he was an associate
veterinarian in a private practice in Normal, Ill. from 1965 to 1969.
Dr. Little joined the AVMA in 1985 and became assistant executive vice
president in 1986. He held that position until becoming executive vice president in
1996. As the CEO of the AVMA, which is comprised of more than 60,000 veterinary
professionals, he performs functions to implement association policy and administrative
programs.
From 1970 to 1986 he bred and raced thoroughbred horses in four states,
and from 1983 to 1986, he was president and operations manager of Blooming Grove Farm,
Inc., a thoroughbred breeding and racing syndication in Bloomington, Ill.
He was an instructor at the Equine Breeding and Reproductive Seminar for
the University of Illinois Extension Service and the College of Veterinary Medicine, and
coached the Illinois 4-H Equine Judging teams in the mid-1970s and took a team to the
National 4-H Equine Judging Finals in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1975.
In the early and mid-1980s, Dr. Little was president of the Illinois State
University Athletic Booster Club and helped organize a fundraiser for construction of a
$14 million athletic arena. He has been an active member of Rotary International
since 1965 and is a Paul Harris Fellow. He served in and was honorably discharged
from the U.S. Army.
Dr. Little served as president and secretary-treasurer of the McLean
County Veterinary Medical Association. He is past chairman of the Illinois State
Fair Veterinary Medical Exhibit, sponsored through the Illinois State Veterinary Medical
Association. He was a member of the ISVMA Equine Committee.
Dr. Little has spoken at national, state and local meetings with students,
educators, administrators and practitioners to communicate and promote AVMA programs, and
has regularly appeared on radio and television programs on veterinary medicine. 1965
K-State Alumnus Earns Recognition From
KSU College of Veterinary Medicine K-State alumnus Bruce W. Little said last
week the College of Veterinary Medicine probably has the most pride in its college than
any other in the country.
Little, who graduated from the college in 1965, was on campus
February 17-20, with his wife as the College of Veterinary Medicine's 1998 Alumni Fellow,
which he said was an honor.
"Receiving the letter asking me to come back and be the 1998
Alumni Fellow is the second most important letter I have ever received from K-State,"
he said. "The first most important was my acceptance into vet school."
Little returned to K-State as the executive vice president of the
American Veterinary Medical Association. As the chief executive officer of the
organization, Little performs functions to implement association policy and administrative
programs.
Little was appointed by AVMA Executive Board Chair Dr. Leonard Seda in January 1996, after having spent nearly 10 years as the assistant executive vice
president. AVMA is based in Schaumburg, Ill., and is composed of 63,000 members throughout
the United States.
Interim Dean of Veterinary Medicine Neil Anderson said for Little
to go from his own animal practice to administration showed he had made the most of his
opportunities to get where he is today.
"Bruce is at the height of his powers. He has reached the
top of our profession, he said.
Little was also the central figure in the AVMA Building Committee
that searched for and purchased the AVMA's 76,000-square-foot office building. The
building has now tripled its purchase value since it was built in 1991. AVMA only uses
half of the building and rents out the other half to generate $534,000 a year in income.
During his stay at K-State, Little toured the college's three
departments and also the Food Animal Health and Management Center. While on these tours he
also reviewed the programs with the department heads.
Little commended K-State and said it is on top of what is
happening in veterinary medicine. He also said the projects dealing with animal health and
proficiency in the Food Animal Health and Management Center were on track.
"I think they are focusing exactly on what the future holds
for vet medicine, actually they may be 10 to 15 years ahead of the game," he said.
Little also said veterinary medicine can't slow down. He said
more and more public relations needs to be done so society knows what veterinary medicine
can do.
He said the amount of knowledge it can lend to society is not
based solely on how to care for animals, but also to help regulation and awareness of
proper health.
Little also commented on the buildings, which have been standing
for 20 years. He said they still look like they did when they were new.
"By the condition of these buildings, I can understand and
see the pride that we as K-Staters take in what we do," he said.
"The pride we have not only sits with the faculty, but the
students, janitorial services, to the alumni contributing money to continue to make the
school better."
John Stous
Kansas
State Collegian
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