| Dates | Location | Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 2010 - Jun 17, 2010 | Philadelphia | $6,500 |
Please note, tuition includes lodging and meals.

A joint program for veterinarians from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Wharton Executive Education.
The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine in partnership with the Wharton School have launched the first-of-its-kind program designed to provide veterinarians with the advanced business and leadership capabilities they need for making a significant impact in their profession. The Penn Executive Veterinary Leadership Program combines the knowledge and experience of a veterinary school with that of a business school to help veterinarians adopt a more strategic approach to leadership within their organizations.
The format of the program will allow you to learn, understand, and apply a variety of tools to hone and refine your leadership development. The program blends the state of veterinary business today with business skill-set development — a leadership experience completely customized for you and the challenges you face in the current environment. This program prepares you to:
- Make better strategic decisions
- Work and lead cross-functional teams
- Adopt advanced methods of influence and persuasion
- Develop effective marketing strategies for your skills and services
- Become more effective business executives and public health leaders
- Advance the veterinary profession
This leadership development program gives veterinarians a comprehensive blueprint for making an impact as a leader without losing clinical focus — beginning with a broad overview of the profession and culminating with a personalized action plan for continued post-program development. These personal development plans will be conducted virtually once participants leave Wharton. This ongoing contact is designed to extend the experience and improve the knowledge transfer.
"Veterinarians want to be — and need to be — effective business leaders in their organizations and partners for disease control and other major global health, biosecurity, and food supply issues. This program gives veterinarians what they need to be successful both as business executives and clinicians who contribute to the advancement of public health," says Dr. Joan C. Hendricks, The Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
Session Topics
- The Challenge of Critical Thinking and Peripheral Vision
- The Art of Woo: Strategic Influence and Persuasion
- The Current State of Veterinary Medicine from a Business Context
- Working Across Boundaries
- Rebranding the Veterinary Profession
- Leading Teams
- Challenges and Opportunities for Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Public Health
- Panel Discussion: The Future of Animal Health
- Individual Action Plans for Post-Program Development
This program is targeted at current or aspiring veterinarian executives or leaders. The goal is to have participants with breadth and depth across the profession and across industries and with a global reach, come together to hone and refine their individual leadership skills as well as think about how they can be the change agents in the profession.
The following are examples of the types of positions held by candidates who are expected to apply; however, the list is in no way exhaustive:
- Veterinarians in the pharmaceutical industry
- Faculty
- Government (FDA, CDC, USDA, state, county)
- International (OIE, World Bank, UN)
- Retail
- Directors of associations
- VMAs and AVMA (state associations)
- Veterinary Management Groups (VMGs)
- Large practice owners (>10 practitioners)
- Veterinary business consultants/advisors
- Animal Hospital Association
Faculty use a mix of learning methodologies — team sessions, role play, interactive lectures, experiential learning, and cases. The four-day program culminates in the development of individual action plans for the participants' change initiatives. The individual action plans will include very specific, feasible, actionable steps to which the participants commit during a self-designated timeframe. The participants will also be asked to consider metrics in determining progress on the commitments — thus encouraging accountability.
Enrollment is limited to allow an environment conducive for interaction.
KATHY
PEARSON, PhD
Operations and Information Management Department
The Wharton School
DAVID
N.
BERG, PhD
Yale School of Medicine
In 1992, Dr. Berg opened a private practice in organizational psychology, continuing his work as a consultant and as a teacher in executive programs. He has consulted for a wide variety of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, not-for-profit foundations, and public school systems. He has written several articles and books. In addition, he was deputy editor of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science from 1994 through 2004, and formerly served on the editorial boards of both the Journal of Management Inquiry and the Journal of Management Education.
Dr. Berg received his BA in Psychology and MA in Administrative Sciences from Yale University, as well as both an MA and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Michigan.
GREGG
BEVIER, DVM
Dr. BeVier holds a BS in Agriculture Science, an MS in Animal Science, a DVM and an MBA, all from the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL. His extensive background and experience in global livestock production and as a Board member of a public company have helped him shape leading organizations such as Sygen, PIC, Merial and Premium Standard Farms. He has been a lifetime member of the American Veterinary Medicine Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians and serves on the Dean's advisory council at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois.
ERICA
P.
FLUKINGER
She currently works in human resources development at the corporate offices of Acme Brick Company, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. She recently was promoted to one of the top professional positions in the department, leading projects in performance/talent management, compensation analysis, leadership development, succession planning, and internal executive coaching.
E. DEAN
GAGE, DVM
Dr. Gage received his BS and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Texas A&M University in 1966. He then accepted a Postdoctoral Scott Ritchey Research Fellowship at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University and obtained a postdoctoral M.S. and Residency in neurosurgery. Dr. Gage was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1991. He has served on the Board of Regents and is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Dr. Gage has published over 70 scientific papers, contributed to 5 textbooks and given more than 150 papers and presentations to professional, scientific, and educational associations. Since 1994, Dr. Gage has given more than 250 presentations on the Character of Leadership to executives, corporations, governmental entities, Christian groups, and professional organizations.
JOAN
C.
HENDRICKS, VMD, PhD
In the area of critical care, Dr. Hendricks has played a key role in enhancing teaching and patient care. With colleagues at the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital, she was instrumental in establishing a Center for Critical Care at the hospital, which brought the Emergency Service, Intensive Care Unit and the Anesthesia Service together into a single section. Dr. Hendricks has significantly advanced the stature and importance of the School’s clinical investigation capabilities by successfully recruiting highly regarded tenure-track faculty in the Department of Clinical Studies, and by establishing an innovative partnership with Pfizer Animal Health to support clinical trials.
Dr. Hendricks' work has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Journal of Applied Physiology, and she is frequently invited to lecture at major conferences around the world. Dr. Hendricks is a recognized expert in the field of sleep and sleep disorders, and has recently published pioneering studies on the molecular biology of sleep in fruit flies in the high-impact journals Nature Neuroscience and Neuron.
In 1979 and 1980, Dr. Hendricks earned her VMD and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She also carried out her residency and postdoctoral fellowship at Penn. She has a BS in biology and psychology from Yale University.
BARBARA
KAHN, PhD
School of Business Administration
University of Miami
EDWARD
W.
KANARA, DVM, DABVP
Dr. Kanara received his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from the University of Illinois. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and has an Executive Coaching Certification from the University of Georgia. He has also been an invited speaker at national and international veterinary continuing education meetings and a published author in refereed and non-refereed journals, magazines, books, and educational materials. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the Sponsors Council of the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues, and the Deans National Advisory Committee for the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois.
KATHERINE
J.
KLEIN, PhD
The Wharton School
She is the author of "How Do They Get There? An Examination of the Antecedents of Centrality in Team Networks" (Academy of Management Journal), which examines who gains positions of influence, friendship, or dislike in a team's social network, and why. Her recent study of team leadership in emergency trauma care center exposes leaders’ use of "dynamic delegation" to simultaneously ensure high-quality patient care and the development of the team's novice members. She is also the author of studies of diversity in organizations, technological change, and employee stock ownership.
Prior to coming to Wharton, Dr. Klein was on the faculty of the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland (Industrial and Organizational Psychology Program). She was also a visiting professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. She earned her BA from Yale University and her PhD from the University of Texas.
Dr. Klein is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Psychology and has served on the editorial boards of Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, and Leadership Quarterly, among others. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Institute, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, private foundations, and corporations. Dr. Klein is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the American Psychological Association.
CHARLOTTE
A.
LACROIX, DVM, JD
Dr. Lacroix's legal and consulting activities include: legal document preparation and negotiation; assisting practice owners in selecting and forming business entities; advising on all aspects of veterinary partnerships, including associate buy-ins, specialty and general practice governance and management, and partner retirement and withdrawals; negotiating and facilitating the purchase and sale of practices of all types; consulting on specialty practice "shared leases" and other commercial leases; assisting with all employment law issues; and advising on malpractice cases, animal law and other legal and business problems. Dr. Lacroix lectures extensively on all these topics nation-wide and overseas, and is a frequent speaker at AVMA, AAHA, NAVC, WVC, and other veterinary association and industry meetings and seminars. She is also an enthusiastic adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Lacroix is a regular contributor to JAVMA, Veterinary Economics, DVM Magazine, Veterinary Forum, Partners in Practice, and AAHA publications. She has written numerous other articles, contributed to several books, and appeared on radio and television. Dr. Lacroix also volunteers her time and expertise to veterinary and other organizations, including AVMA, AAHA, AAEP, NJAEP, NJVMA, PVMA, and NAVC.
MARK
LUTSCHAUNIG, VMD
American Veterinary Medical Association
Dr. Lutschaunig holds a VMD degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from DeSales University. Dr. Lutschaunig oversees the American Veterinary Medical Association's federal advocacy efforts in Washington.
MARIO
MOUSSA, PhD
Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Care Economics
University of Pennsylvania

