March 15, 2020

The Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine has named Dr. Dori Borjesson (UC-Davis ‘95) as its new dean, effective July 20.

Dr. Borjesson will replace Dr. Bryan Slinker, the former dean of the veterinary college, who announced he would step down but was later appointed interim provost. He will leave that position in June.

“Being from the Pacific Northwest, this feels like a homecoming,” Dr. Borjesson said in a press release. She was raised in Portland, Oregon. “Increasing engagement and outreach across the state is a top priority for me upon taking up this new role. In addition to engagement and strategic planning, I’m also eager to face some of the critical issues facing members of the veterinary profession, including student debt and enhancing the wellbeing of our faculty, students, and staff.”

Dr. Borjesson is the former chair of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. She has also worked as a clinical pathologist and served as the director of the Veterinary Institute for Regenerative Cures at UC-Davis from 2015-19. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathology.

Dr. Borjesson holds two patents in mesenchymal stem cells and immunomodulation, and some of her recent research has focused on naturally occurring inflammatory bowel disease in dogs, chronic gingivostomatitis in cats, and spinal cord injury in dogs.

She received the 2014 Zoetis Research Excellence Award.

Dr. Borjesson has worked at UC-Davis as an associate professor and full professor, and she has led the Integrative Pathobiology Graduate Group at UC-Davis. She engaged in curriculum development, teaching, and mentoring with the group. She has mentored more than three dozen veterinary residents and graduate students, according to the press release.