Interview with M. Ward Crowe, May 13, 2016

Partial Transcript: Alright, this is Ruth Bryan. I work in the Special Collections Research Center of, uh, University of Kentucky Libraries and I’m here with Doctor Ward Crowe who is a longtime faculty member at the University of Kentucky in veterinary science.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses being born and raised in Kentucky where he attended the University of Kentucky for undergraduate school, met his wife, and was accepted into Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Keywords: Auburn University; Interviews; Introduction; University of Kentucky

Subjects: Auburn University; Pet medicine.; University of Kentucky; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.

Partial Transcript: Anyhow I finished Auburn. I had a goal of becoming a practicing veterinarian and I went back to Madisonville, opened my veterinary clinic, and, uh, I had that for five years.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses his first two jobs out of veterinary school. He began by opening his own small animal practice, and then worked at Pfizer Drug Company in New York.

Keywords: Academia; Auburn University; Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM); Madisonville; New York; Pfizer Drug Company; Small animal clinics; Small animal medicine (Pets); University of Kentucky

Subjects: Auburn University; New York; Pet medicine.; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals; University of Kentucky; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.

Partial Transcript: And, uh, I came to Lexington to a meeting and met with the chairman of the Vet Science Department.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe was hired at UK April 1st, 1964 as an assistant vet lecturer. He was ineligible to be a full professor until the introduction of the special title series. Now, he has been part of the University of Kentucky faculty for thirty years.

Keywords: Animal pathology; Lecturers; Pathology; Professors; Special title series; Veterinary science

Subjects: College environment; College teachers--Selection and appointment.; College teachers--Social conditions; College teaching.; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Pet medicine.; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Kentucky; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.

Partial Transcript: As far as what I did during that time, uh, I like to think of it as wearing about three different hats.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses his role in advising students as they applied to veterinary school, particularly those applying to Auburn University. He also discusses the process of sending those applications to Auburn, along with the fluctuating quota of University of Kentucky students who were accepted into the program.

Keywords: Advising; Advisors; Council of Higher Education; In-state tuition; Pre-veterinary programs

Subjects: Auburn University; College environment; College students.; College teachers--Social conditions; College teaching.; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Pet medicine.; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Kentucky; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.

Partial Transcript: So your third hat?

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses working in animal pathology at the University of Kentucky, the construction of the new diagnostics lab on Newtown Pike, and his decision to only perform necropsies on horses.

Keywords: Animal disease diagnostics; Animal pathology; College of Agriculture; Department of Agriculture; Diagnostic laboratories; Diagnostics; Equine diagnostic services; Louie B. Nunn; Necropsy; Newtown Pike; Newtown Pike diagnostic laboratory; University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UKVDL)

Subjects: Agriculture; College environment; College teachers--Social conditions; College teaching.; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Pet medicine.; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky. College of Agriculture; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.

Partial Transcript: I became interested in different horse diseases and I especially became interested in the field of teratology, which is the study of deformities.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses his interest in teratology (the study of abnormalities of physiological development). He discusses how this led him to be interested in a slew of cases of deformed pigs and the connection between the deformities and changes in tobacco regulations.

Keywords: Abnormalities; Alkaloid; Anabasine; Foals; Pigs; Tobacco stalks; Utah; Utah State Agriculture College

Subjects: Agriculture; College environment; College teachers--Social conditions; College teaching.; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Jessamine County (Ky.); Pet medicine.; Teratology.; Tobacco; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky. College of Agriculture; Utah; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.

Partial Transcript: Let me follow up by asking if you have any knowledge or thoughts about--because, it was--it's not, it's not been very long ago that there was the Mare Reproductive Syndrome...

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses his involvement in the research of MRLS in the early 2000s, as well as a similar event that he experienced on his own farm in the 1980s.

Keywords: Abortion; Eastern Tent Caterpillars; Fetus; Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome (MRLS)

Subjects: Abortion; Agriculture; College environment; College teachers--Social conditions; College teaching.; Eastern Tent Caterpillar; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Fetus; Pet medicine.; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky. College of Agriculture; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.

Partial Transcript: Back to the horses, I was talking about deformities.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe reverts back to discussing teratology and how the research applies in academia. He focuses primarily on sheep born with cyclopia.

Keywords: Academia; Cabbage; Cyclopia; Deformities; Dr. Legran Shupe; Dr. Shupe; Lambs; Rocky Mountains; Teratology; Utah; Zika Virus

Subjects: Agriculture; College environment; College teachers--Social conditions; College teaching.; Cyclopia; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Pet medicine.; Rocky Mountains; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky. College of Agriculture; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.; Zika Virus

Partial Transcript: Uh, you want to talk about athletics.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses how he came upon the buzzer from Memorial Coliseum, given to him by Ed Heaton. He explains his reasoning for donating it to the University of Kentucky.

Keywords: Buzzers; Carl Nathy; Ed Heaton; Memorial Coliseum; Oran Little; Veterinary science

Subjects: College athletes; College sports.; University of Kentucky

Partial Transcript: So, I mentioned to you in a memo that Frank Ramsey and I were in the fifth grade together.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses his friendship with Frank Ramsey and the experience that came out of that friendship.

Keywords: Basketball; Cliff Hagan; Frank Ramsey; Gene Hardwick; Hopkins County (Ky.); Madisonville City School

Subjects: Athletes; Basketball; College athletes; College sports.; Madisonville Community College; University of Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Tell me a little bit about what it was like to attend games as a student in Memorial Coliseum.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses attending athletic events as a student and how the facilities have changed the land in Lexington over the years.

Keywords: Basketball; Dairy barns; Farmland; Football; Sheep barns; Student laborers; Students; Tickets

Subjects: Basketball; College athletes; College sports.; College students--Social conditions; Football; Lexington (Ky.); University of Kentucky

Partial Transcript: But I've got two children that are, uh, approaching 60 years old, and I've got great grandchildren.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses his family’s involvement at UK and how that has impacted his life through the years. He also discusses his family members who did not attend UK and why they chose to go where they went.

Keywords: Air Force; Charles Kincaid; Children; Eastern Kentucky University; Engineering; Masters degrees; Medical schools; Morehead University; Neurology; Shelby County (Ky.); Shelby Kincaid

Subjects: Children; College choice; College environment; College students--Social conditions; College students.; College teachers--Social conditions; College teaching.; Eastern Kentucky University; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Engineering; Families.; Morehead State University; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Well, I think we, um, we can wrap up.

Segment Synopsis: Crowe discusses how animal rights activism led to him becoming the University Veterinarian. This meant that he had oversight on all animals at the University of Kentucky.

Keywords: Activism; Animal Cruelty; Animal Rights; Dr. Nabb; Dr. Royster; Federal Law; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA); Pigs; Simulation; Space Exploration; University Veterinarian

Subjects: Animal rights; Animal welfare.; College environment; College students.; College teachers--Social conditions; College teaching.; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Pet medicine.; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Kentucky; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine.