May 01, 2021
$6M donation creates cardiology, orthopedic positions at Colorado State
Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences has received a gift of $6 million to establish two chair positions for two of the services at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
The endowment, given by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, will be split evenly between two faculty positions: an interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery chair and an orthopedic medicine and mobility chair. The endowment will allow both services to improve and expand, increasing the overall capacity for treatment, surgery, and rehabilitation at the hospital, according to a university press release.
Dr. E. Christopher Orton, clinical sciences professor, researcher, and veterinary cardiac surgeon, will occupy the cardiology chair. He first got to know the donor when she brought her dog, Custer, in for heart surgery. She has since had other pets receive care at the veterinary teaching hospital. In 2012, she began making regular donations to support the hospital’s work, which have funded fellowship positions in interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery, the development of an endowment to support the university’s Argus Institute, the creation of an interventional cardiac operating room at the hospital, and more.
Dr. Felix Duerr, associate professor of orthopedic medicine and mobility, has been selected as the orthopedic medicine and mobility chair. Duerr specializes in addressing musculoskeletal problems and injury prevention and is particularly interested in finding better treatments for arthritis in pets.