Recognition Awards
Samuelson Receives 2005 Alumni Recognition Award From College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Marvin Samuelson, Rogers, AR., has been
selected to receive a prestigious award from his alma mater, the
Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. The Alumni
Recognition Award is in recognition for time and effort devoted to
advancing veterinary medicine and for being an exemplary role model
in his profession and community.
The award will be presented at the annual convention of the Central
Veterinary Conference in Kansas City, MO., on Aug. 27. Dean Ralph
Richardson will present the award on behalf of the K-State
Veterinary Medical Alumni Association.
Samuelson, who was born in Oketo, KS., and grew up near Frankfort,
has had a distinguished 50-year career as a veterinarian, professor
and veterinary consultant.
Samuelson cites growing up on a Kansas farm as an inspiration for
pursuing a career as a veterinarian. “I always enjoyed livestock and
pets, but I wasn’t just fixed on animals. I was also interested in
the people who wanted to take care of animals.”
After earning his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from K-State
in 1956, Samuelson entered the United States Army Veterinary Corps
as a food safety officer. Stationed at Ft. MacArthur, CA., his
unit helped maintain the safety of the food supply of the armed
forces.
Following his military career, Samuelson owned a small animal
practice in San Pedro, CA., from 1958-1973. A chance encounter
with Dr. Jake Mosier, a long-time professor at the K-State College
of Veterinary Medicine, led him back to K-State for a 15-year
teaching career. Mosier asked Samuelson to head the small animal
section at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. “It was a
surprise to me. I hadn’t even thought about teaching before,”
Samuelson recalled. “It was one of the best moves I ever made. I had
grown up in northeast Kansas, and it was an exciting thing to come
back and be a part of where I came from.”
While at K-State, Samuelson also taught classes on dermatology, an
area in which he specialized. In 1987 he took a position at Texas
A&M University as director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and
assistant dean for public programs. After five years, Samuelson
decided to return to his native Kansas where he opened a
referral-only clinic in Topeka called Animal Dermatology and Allergy
Associates. During this time, Samuelson also became a consultant for
the Veterinary Allergy Reference Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., as
their Midwest affiliate.
In 1998, Samuelson sold his practice and bought a motor home. He
continued to consult while he and wife, Rubye, traveled the country
for seven years. The Samuelsons recently built a new lakeside home
just east of Rogers, Ark., where they enjoy boating, fishing and
playing golf.
“There is life after retirement,” Samuelson said, proud that he was
able to take his consulting business on the road while enjoying
other hobbies. Still semi-retired, Samuelson attends about 10
meetings each year offering consultation on dermatology issues.
“Veterinary Medicine has been good to me. It has allowed me to
travel, to change my career within veterinary medicine, and every
one of those changes was exciting,” Samuelson said.
Some of Samuelson’s professional involvements include memberships
with the Kansas Board of Veterinary Examiners, American Association
of Veterinary State Boards Executive Committee, American Academy of
Veterinary Dermatology, Academy of Veterinary Allergy and Clinical
Immunology, American Veterinary Medical Association and Kansas
Veterinary Medical Association.