Lunn Named Veterinary Dean

The new dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine is Dr. D. Paul Lunn, professor of equine medicine and clinical sciences department head at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He will begin work Feb. 15.

“I am extremely pleased we have been able to attract Dr. Lunn to lead the College of Veterinary Medicine,” said Provost Warwick Arden. “I believe he has the experience, skill and vision to continue to move this outstanding program to a position of international eminence.”

NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine is one of the top colleges of its type in the United States, ranking third in the most recent U.S. News & World Report survey. The college includes nearly 400 graduate students and about 140 faculty.

“Above all, I have been hugely impressed by the enthusiasm and positive attitude of the faculty of the college,” Lunn said. “I look forward to working with them to accomplish their ambitious goals.”

Lunn is an expert in equine immunology and infectious disease; his lab researches equine influenza and equine herpesvirus (EHV-1), a highly infectious virus that can cause abortion and neurological disease in horses.

Lunn has been at Colorado State since 2003. From 2000 to 2003, he served as the associate dean for clinical affairs and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. He also was a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine from 1991 to 2000.

Lunn received the Faculty Achievement Award from the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians earlier this year. He was recognized with the British Equine Veterinary Association’s Sir Frederick Smith Lecture and Medal in 2009.

He is past president of the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians and has served on a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture review panel for immunology and parasitology. He is serving as chairman of the Research Advisory Committee of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

Lunn has written or co-authored more than 16 book chapters and 90 papers in refereed journals. He is a well-known speaker and serves as a reviewer for academic journals and research-granting agencies.

Lunn, 53, was born in Wales and received his bachelor’s degree in veterinary science with honors at the University of Liverpool in 1982. He was a practicing veterinarian from 1983 to 1985 before earning a master’s degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988 and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1991. He became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 1992.