Alumni Accomplishments

More than 3,000 veterinarians have graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine since it was established in 1947. Many others have earned master's and Ph.D. degrees at the College.

Our alumni’s accomplishments are many—and will continue to be. So please be patient if you don’t see a page for yourself or a fellow alumnus you think deserves recognition. Better yet, send us information and announcements about your accomplishments and those of other alumni. This part of the College Web site will always be under construction!

  Bruce Coston, D.V.M., Class of 1987

Bruce Coston's second veterinary memoir was released by St. Martins Press on August 7 of this year. The Gift of Pets: Stories Only a Vet Could Tell celebrates the wonderful relationship that veterinarians enjoy with their patients, their clients and their staff.

Stories that all pet lovers will relate to about his patients, the eclectic owners that bring them in, the warm and touching relationships that veterinarians are privy to, and the amazing power that pets exert in our lives are shared from Coston’s Woodstock, Virginia companion animal practice. The Gift of Pets has garnered wonderful reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews and has been included in this year’s Los Angeles Times summer reading list. You’ll want to pick up a copy. Dr. Coston’s first book, Ask The Animals, came out in 2009. The paperback released a year later.  Learn more about Dr. Coston on his author website, www.brucecoston.com

Kristen Nelson, D.V.M., Class of 1988, has a new book out titled Coated with Fur. This book chronicles Dr. Nelson's experiences as a practitioner and a clinic owner. www.coatedwithfur.com

(Photo of Dr. Nelson courtesy of www.veterinarycreative.com)

 Dr. René Carlson 2010 Commencement Speaker

We are excited to have the Class of 1978 CVM alum Dr. René Carlson as this year’s commencement speaker. Dr. Carlson has worked as a companion animal private practice for 18 years at both rural and urban veterinary clinics before building the Animal Hospital of Chetek, in Chetek, Wisconsin. In addition to working as a veterinarian, she has served on several national veterinary association boards and has served as Vice President of the American Veterinary Medical Association from 2004-2006, where she was the AVMA liaison to over 12,000 veterinary medical students in this country, one school in Canada and three schools in the West Indies. Dr. Carlson is now serving on the AVMA Council on Education representing private clinical practice, which acts as the accrediting body for the US veterinary medical colleges. She is currently the only announced candidate for President-Elect for AVMA. The AVMA House of Delegates elects both the Vice President and President-Elect at the AVMA annual convention in Atlanta this coming July.

(Photo of Dr. Carlson, courtesy of AVMA)

Alumni Reception at MVMA February 4, 2010