Dr. Ralph Richardson - DVM 1970
Fetch dvm360 Conference 2024
Dr. Ralph C. Richardson, Olathe, Kansas, is the recipient of the 2024 Alumni Recognition Award to be presented during an alumni reception being held in Kansas City, Missouri, on Aug. 24 in conjunction with the annual Fetch dvm360 Conference. The award is given to veterinarians in grateful recognition for time and effort devoted to advancing veterinary medicine and for being an exemplary role model for future alumni in a professional and community setting.
Dr. Richardson served as dean and CEO of the K-State Olathe campus from 2015 to 2019 after serving 17 years as the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. Originally from South Carolina, he grew up in Manhattan, Kansas and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from K-State in 1970.
“I’m thrilled to receive the alumni recognition award,” Dr. Richardson said. “Being an alumnus of K-State has provided me with a foundation upon which every step of my career has been built. Our veterinary college teachers instilled a ‘can do’ attitude and a sense of practicality in us that has helped me tremendously. Whether in the military, private practice, clinical teaching, research, administration or serving on committees and boards, my K-State roots have served me well.
“Dr. Jim Coffman, one of our teachers and my ‘’boss’ when I returned to K-State as dean, told me one time that he thought that our education and clinical experiences prepared us well for university administration. He said that we were taught to diagnose problems, establish treatment plans, deal with emergencies, and work with other peoples’ money. I’ve never forgotten those words and believe that they reflect the way we, as K-State veterinary college alumni, have learned to meld basic sciences, human-animal interactions, and applied clinical medicine into a complete package. I’m very proud to be a K-State Wildcat!”
After graduating from K-State, Dr. Richardson served as a captain in the United States Army Veterinary Corps from 1970 to 1972. He then completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Purdue University in 1973. This was followed by the completion of a residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia in small animal internal medicine in 1975. After spending a year in private practice in Miami, Florida, he returned to Purdue where he joined the clinical faculty.
“It is an honor and a privilege to recognize Dr. Richardson for his longtime leadership and dedication to both the veterinary college and the university,” said Dr. Bonnie Rush, Hodes Family Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “Dr. Richardson’s career demonstrates how his education at K-State led him to unique career paths as a veterinarian, instructor and administrator. We are proud to present this award in recognition of his enduring legacy and impact on the college and the veterinary profession.”
Dr. Richardson is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and a charter diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine’s specialty of oncology. He completed a training program in clinical oncology at the University of Kansas Medical School, consulted in private practice in Chicago, and had a 22-year career as a faculty member and head of the Clinical Sciences Department at Purdue. While at Purdue, he helped establish its Comparative Oncology Program for pets with naturally occurring cancer that served as animal models for humans with cancer. Dr. Richardson provided leadership to grow the veterinary teaching, research and extension programs at Purdue.
Dr. Richardson was appointed as dean of the veterinary college at K-State in 1998. Under his leadership, enrollment experienced controlled growth from a graduating class of 79 students in 1998 to a class size of 112 by the time of his retirement in 2015. More than $72 million was raised in private support for the college including the creation of 150 scholarships and seven permanently endowed professorships. Dr. Richardson had an active role in helping to promote the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas, or VTPRK, that offers a debt repayment incentive for graduates to work in rural practices in Kansas.
Dr, Richardson was a member of the inaugural board of directors of the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, and facilitated the creation of numerous programs such as the Beef Cattle Institute, the Center for Vector-borne Diseases, the Center for Outcomes Research and Epidemiology, the expansion of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and the building of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility. Under his leadership, the college initiated a DVM/Ph.D. program and an DVM/MPH program to provide training for alternate careers paths such as for working in research laboratories, public health practice, and academia.
Dr. Richardson is past president of the Veterinary Cancer Society, the Specialty of Oncology in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians. He served in several roles in the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). He is a member of numerous professional veterinary medical associations and organizations including the AVMA and Kansas Veterinary Medical Association.
In 2015, Dr. Richardson received the Iron Paw Award (the animal health industry’s lifetime achievement award). He has also received the 2016 AAVMC’s Recognition Lecture award and the 2021 Jay B. Dillingham Agricultural Leadership and Excellence Award awarded by the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City.
Dr. Richardson is active in his local church by serving as an elder and participating in the church’s Biblical counseling ministry. Dr. Richardson and his wife Beverly have three married sons and 14 grandchildren.