WCVM's first advisory board and faculty in September 1965. Dunlop is in the back row, far right. U of S Archives.
WCVM's first advisory board and faculty in September 1965. Dunlop is in the back row, far right. U of S Archives.

In memoriam: Dr. Robert H. Dunlop

Dr. Robert Hugh Dunlop, a well-known veterinary leader and one of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine's (WCVM) first faculty members, died at the age of 85 on Dec. 18, 2014.

"By any standard, Bob looms as a Canadian 'giant' in veterinary medicine in the last half of the 20th century," said Dr. Ole Nielsen, a former dean of the WCVM.

Nielsen considered Dunlop "a dear friend and colleague, who also had a significant impact on my career." The two were among the WCVM's first faculty members, and both men were appointed to their WCVM roles in 1964 by Dr. Larry Smith, the college's founding dean.

Nielsen wrote about Dunlop's life in a longer obituary that includes additional details about his friend's many accomplishments.

Dunlop, who grew up in London, emigrated to Canada in 1949 and worked as a labourer in the agriculture and mining fields until he enrolled at the Ontario Veterinary College in 1951. After graduating in 1956, Dunlop went on to complete his PhD degree at the University of Minnesota in 1961.

Dunlop joined Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1962 and worked as an associated professor of pharmacology until 1965 when he joined the WCVM as the brand new veterinary college's head of the Department of Physiological Sciences.

In late 1970, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) recruited Dunlop as the founding dean for a new veterinary faculty at Makerere University in Uganda — a position he held until 1973 when turmoil in the country forced CIDA to withdraw its support.

That same year, Dunlop was appointed the founding dean of the School of Veterinary Sciences at the newly-established Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. While in Australia, Dunlop became a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in the field of pharmacology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

In 1979, Dunlop became dean of the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine — a role that he held for nine years. After completing his deanship in 1988, Dunlop stayed on at the university as a professor of clinical and population sciences until 1998.

During this 10-year period, Dunlop continued to be active in research, international development and continuing education. He also became an author. In 1990, he co-authored a textbook, Physiology of Small and Large Domestic Animals, in collaboration with his French colleague, Yves Ruckebusch. In 1995, he co-authored Veterinary Medicine: An Illustrated History with David Williams. In 2004, he also c0-edited a book on pathophysiology — his first love among his many scientific interests — with Charles-Henri Malbert of France.

Dunlop is survived by his wife, Josephine, and five of his six children: Robert, Tasha, Lachlan, Karma and Boadie. He was predeceased by his son Pytt in 1991.

Download a PDF version of an obituary written by Dr. Ole Nielsen
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