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"He really had the students at heart during his
entire career. He'd do anything for them from
help them find part-time jobs to find a place
for them to live. And he had a tremendously dry
sense of humor people of all ages could relate
to. Dick was an extraordinary friend, scholar,
teacher and administrator." - John Gorham, WSU
veterinary professor and USDA research leader.
Richard B.
Wescott was 62,
when he died in
a Spokane
hospital on Oct.
6, 1994 after a
long illness.
But what the
retired
Professor and
Associate Dean
for Academic
Affairs in
Washington State
University's
College of
Veterinary
Medicine is best
remembered for
is his
appreciation and
respect for
students.
Perhaps, as he
once put it, it
was because he
never stopped
learning
himself. Wescott
was born on July
8, 1932 in
Chicago. In
1954, Wescott
married Judy
Potts in Oak
Park, Ill. He
went on to earn
three degrees
from the
University of
Wisconsin
including a
Ph.D. in 1965.
He had
previously
earned his
Doctor of
Veterinary
Medicine degree
in 1958 from the
University of
Minnesota. A
veterinary
parasitologist,
Wescott came to
WSU in 1971 as a
full professor
after being on
the faculty at
the University
of Missouri.
Over the next 23
years, he was on
occasion acting
chair of the
Department of
Veterinary
Pathology and
later the
Department of
Veterinary
Microbiology and
Pathology. For
more than 20
years he was
involved with
students and the
veterinary
curriculum and
was named
Associate Dean
for Academic
Affairs in 1987.
At the time of
his retirement
in May of 1994,
Wescott had the
distinction of
having taught
more than 25
percent of all
the veterinary
students who
ever graduated
from WSU.
Wescott was a member of seven professional
societies. During his distinguished career he
received 28 academic awards ranging from
international recognition for his research to
seven Outstanding Professorships in the college
for his teaching abilities. He also personally
trained 13 graduate students. At WSU's
veterinary graduation ceremonies on the eve of
his retirement in May, Wescott was presented
with an Honorary WSU Alumnus Award by Dean Borje
Gustafsson. A prolific academic writer, Wescott
published 17 chapters in various veterinary
texts. He was also first author or co-author of
108 academic articles and abstracts. During his
remarkable career, he was an assistant editor
for three professional journals: the American
Journal of Veterinary Research, Laboratory
Animal Science, and the Journal of the American
Veterinary Medical Association. The Richard B.
Wescott D.V.M. Scholarship Fund was endowed in
December 1994 in his memory.
Wescott Memorial Parasitology Lectures
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To make a gift by mail:
Please make check payable to the WSU Foundation and indicate it is for the
Richard B. Wescott, DVM Scholarship Fund
Send the check to:
Lynne Haley
PO Box 647010
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-7010
For questions about giving, contact Lynne Haley, Director of Development,
at (509) 335-5021 or
lhaley@vetmed.wsu.edu
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