Dr. Brad White uses expertise to support cattle industry and rural veterinary practice
While the expression may sound backwards, Dr. Brad White is a longtime veterinarian who walks the walk – and talks the talk. In land-grant terms, his career has involved both walking the walk when it comes to teaching, research and service and talking the talk when delivering outreach through the Cattle Chat podcast (as pictured above) with the Beef Cattle Institute, or BCI, at K-State.
“We have a true multidisciplinary team including agricultural economists, nutritionists, animal scientists, and veterinarians with different specialty areas like pharmacology, animal welfare, toxicology and epidemiology,” said Dr. White, who serves as the director of the BCI. “The goal of the BCI is to provide answers and solutions to the beef industry, specifically focused on questions from veterinarians and producers. Our group frequently interacts with stakeholders in a variety of areas of the beef industry.”
Dr. Brad White joins Drs. Elysia Morris, Jensen Gutsch and Anne Brien, who were then in the fourth-year studies, at the Birthing Center during the 2023 Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson.
Pathway to veterinary medicine
In his early life, Dr. White enjoyed having a close relationship with a great mentor in veterinary medicine.
“I grew up in southeast Missouri, where my dad was a veterinarian, so I worked in his practice growing up,” Dr. White said. He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia for his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, which he completed in 1997. “I spent seven years in private practice. My first couple of years were a little bit of everything — mixed animal work which then gravitated more towards cattle medicine and doing cow, calf and stocker medicine.”
Dr. White then joined the faculty at Mississippi State University, where he worked for two years in beef production medicine while also completing a master’s degree. He joined the faculty at Kansas State University in 2005, where he specializes in beef production medicine and management. Another part of his job involves animal health research.
Chatting about cattle and working with producers
“We do a lot a lot of applied research at K-State,” Dr. White said. “We're focused on directly answering producer questions we encounter through the BCI. We've done research on bovine respiratory disease, late day mortalities in the feedyard phase, bull fertility and reproductive success, congestive heart failure, and a variety of other syndromes.”
Dr. White said student research and mentorship are other parts of his focus as a professor.
“BCI typically has about 12 graduate students, but this summer we've got approximately 30 students working with the BCI on a variety of projects,” Dr. White said. “Our BCI faculty meets at least weekly with all students. We want to help them generate knowledge in a smooth process to promote future long-term career success.”
In addition to the BCI, Dr. White is director of the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas, or VTPRK. Established by the Kansas Legislature in 2006, the VTPRK provides a financial incentive for veterinary graduates to practice in rural Kansas communities.
“We work closely with these students while they are completing their DVM degrees at K-State,” Dr. White said. “They are also working on our Food Animal Veterinary Certificate program that gives them a strong foundation for working in rural practice. And even after they graduate, we are maintaining close relationships with all of them. We just had 35 VTPRK alumni and students return to Manhattan in June for an annual conference and reunion, so it’s great to see that they are out there thriving across the state.”
Dr. White answers questions about the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas. KSHB-TV reporter JuYeon Kim, in the green shirt below, also spoke with Caleb Hildebrant, a fourth-year veterinary student who one of five VTPRK scholars in his class. The story aired on KSHB in late March.
Well-deserved accolades
This summer, the College of Veterinary Medicine selected Dr. White to be the holder of the EJ Frick Chair in Veterinary Medicine. The chair is named after the renowned veterinarian who served as a professor in the veterinary college for 47 years. The goal of the chair is to recognize a faculty member who has a national and international reputation in veterinary medicine. It is one of several chairs and professorships in the veterinary college.
“We believe Dr. White is among the most influential and impactful food animal veterinarians of his generation,” said former Hodes Family Dean Dr. Bonnie Rush. “We appreciate all Dr. White does for the college, university and state of Kansas. His work and passion truly represent the aspirations and the intentions the donor had when this chair was created.”
“Dr. Frick was very dedicated to making sure that veterinary students are trained well,” Dr. White said. “And my biggest goal — and why I feel an affinity to Dr. Frick — is to make sure that all our graduate veterinarians and graduate students are successful in their career. With that comes the continued responsibility of providing the best educational experience for our students at all levels.”
Drs. Phillip Lancaster (left) and Brian Lubbers present the 2025 Award of Excellence for Junior Faculty Mentoring in the Clinical Sciences department.
A marvelous mentor too
In addition to the professorship, Dr. White received a surprise presentation during a Clinical Sciences faculty meeting. Interim Department Head Dr. Brian Lubbers presented Dr. White with the department’s 2025 Award for Excellence for Junior Faculty Mentoring. Dr. White was nominated by his colleagues, Dr. Phillip Lancaster.
“Dr. White has gone far beyond the expectations of a mentor by selflessly offering his time, expertise and even the resources of his own research program to support and strengthen my program,” Dr. Lancaster said. “Additionally, Dr. White has cultivated a truly collaborative environment, without question the best I have experienced, fostering a culture of openness, mutual respect and shared purpose.”
“Dr. Brad White is an outstanding mentor for junior faculty in the Department of Clinical Sciences,” Dr. Lubbers said. “He has developed a highly productive research program and contributes significantly to the training of veterinary students. Dr. White uses his own success in these areas as a platform to develop the next generation of veterinary faculty. His work as a faculty mentor makes the College of Veterinary Medicine better both today and tomorrow.”
Committed to K-State and the land-grant mission
Dr. White emphasized there are some important reasons he has stayed at K-State for 20 years and counting.
“I'm still here because of the people,” Dr. White said. “I'm still here because of the interactions with people in the veterinary school, with veterinary students, with my colleagues in the state and beyond — and with our collaborators. I work in the cattle industry, and the level of passion and enthusiasm for animal husbandry and animal health is what drives us to get better every day.”