Roxanne Larsen, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (VBS) at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), was recently awarded the 2019 Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teaching Award at the CVM. The award is given to veterinary educators in recognition of their character and leadership qualities as well as their outstanding teaching abilities. Larsen was among only 32 nominees for the national award. 

Larsen was nominated for the Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teaching Award by DVM students at the CVM. She also recently won the VBS Departmental Teaching Award, which is also voted on by DVM students at the college. 

“Although I may have been the one that received this award, there are several others involved in the courses I teach,” Larsen says. “Specifically, I’d like to recognize Abby Brown, Anna Landherr, Hannah Gytri, Nick Clarizio, Deb Lee, and all the staff and veterinary technicians that help in our courses. They all do so much work behind the scenes and make the courses run smoothly.”

Larsen completed her BS and MS in biology at South Dakota State University (SDSU) in Brookings, SD. She then completed her PhD in biology at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. She has taught a variety of biology courses at the community college, undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels for 14 years. Before arriving at the CVM in 2018, Larsen taught several courses across the curriculum at the Duke University School of Medicine from 2012 to 2018, and is still an adjunct assistant professor at Duke.  

This spring, Larsen also received several “thank yous” through the University of Minnesota Center for Educational Innovation Thank a Teacher Project for outstanding teaching and dedication to helping students learn. Larsen also recently received an American Association for Anatomists Visiting Scholarship to support a visit to the 2020 Comparative Anatomy Exchange Day at Tufts University, which is in support of interprofessional education training and participation in the Tufts University One Health event that involves medical, veterinary, and dental students.

At Duke University School of Medicine, Larsen completed a year-long program and received a Certificate in Health Professions Education and Teaching through the Duke Academy for Health Professions Education and Academic Development. She was also awarded a Postdoctoral Professional Development Award that supported travel to a national research conference.

Larsens says she strives to be the person she needed when she was younger. “I often think about being that person when I am teaching. But I’d like to extend this to any of us at any point in our career—we need mentors at all stages of our lives. You never know when someone could be looking up to you.”