College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) faculty members Dr. Erin Royster and Mark Rutherford have been named recipients of the 2023 Award for Excellence in Academic Unit Service. 

This award recognizes exceptional service that has strengthened the functioning and climate of an academic unit. This is the inaugural year of the award, which is a collaborative initiative of the Provost's Office and the Faculty Consultative Committee.

Royster’s work with the John Fetrow Dairy Education Center and her contributions to several CVM initiatives and programs were highlighted as reasons for her receipt of the award. The Dairy Education Center is a partnership between CVM and Davis Family Dairies that provides opportunities for experiential learning and research. 

“Over the years, Erin has played an important role in managing the relationship with the owners of the farm that enables the Dairy Education Center,” says Dr. Monsterrat Torremorell, professor and interim chair of the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine (VPM). She noted Royster also is involved in the current CVM strategic planning efforts and serves as a member of the CVM Faculty Council.

Royster is an assistant professor in the VPM. Her areas of interest for research, teaching, and outreach include milking equipment evaluation, milking parlor performance, on-farm mastitis diagnostics, and mastitis control. Additionally, Royster is the faculty advisor for the University of Minnesota Laboratory for Udder Health.

Rutherford has made numerous influential and selfless contributions in service for more than two decades, according to his nominators. 

He has consistently been an outstanding champion for graduate students and junior faculty and a crucial advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (VBS) and CVM. 

Rutherford is an associate professor in VBS and is the former longtime associate dean for graduate students at CVM, serving in the position from 2008 to 2021. His research interests lie in molecular aspects of host-pathogen interactions, including transcriptome approaches to understanding both the host response as well as the pathogenic mechanisms employed by the pathogen.

A celebration for award recipients will take place in the fall.