It could take months to find a new dean.
Cecil Moore, chairman of MU’s veterinary medicine and surgery department, will become the interim dean of the MU College of Veterinary Medicine beginning Oct. 13.
“It is a new challenge that will be stimulating for me,” Moore said. “I certainly recognize the importance of the college to our campus and to the profession, and I am very committed to this institution.”
The appointment by MU Provost Brian Foster comes after current veterinary medicine dean Joe Kornegay announced his resignation in August.
“I’m very excited about Dr. Moore being appointed interim dean,” Kornegay said. “He’s very committed to the college and will do all that he can to see that the college moves forward.”
A national search will be conducted later to find a permanent dean. The search could take several months and a new dean might not be appointed until the summer.
Moore said he does not know whether he will apply for the permanent dean position.
“My aim at the present time is to bring together the faculty and staff and others to position us in the best possible way to recruit a new permanent dean,” Moore said.
Moore said that during Kornegay’s last two weeks at MU the two will work together closely to prepare Moore for his time as interim dean.
Moore has served as department chair and hospital director of MU Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital since 2000.
“I’ve been on the college executive committee during my eight years as chairman, and I’m familiar with many of the issues that the college faces, so that’s been a good background, I think,” Moore said.
Moore was named the Missouri Veterinarian of the Year in 2004 and served as the president of the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians from 2005 to 2006, according to a press release.
He is also a past president and diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.
Moore received a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Northeast Missouri State University and his veterinary medical degree from MU. He also holds a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin.
Kornegay resigned in August to accept a position at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Gene Therapy Center and the School of Medicine Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine with a secondary appointment in the Department of Neurology.
“It’s an opportunity for me to both go home — North Carolina is my home state — and to focus on research on muscular dystrophy,” Kornegay said.