Dr William Hollis was installed as president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians on March 7, 2023, during the association’s 54th Annual Meeting in Aurora, Colorado. He succeeds Dr Michael Senn, who is now immediate past president. Dr Angela Baysinger has ascended to president-elect. The newly elected vice president is Dr Locke Karriker.
AASV President Dr William Hollis (Illinois ’96) was born in Bushnell, Illinois, where he attended high school. During 1986-1987, Dr Hollis served as the Illinois FFA president, and the National FFA vice president during 1988. He received his BS in agriculture and DVM from the University of Illinois. Dr Hollis is currently a partner and veterinarian of Carthage Veterinary Service and serves as the president of Professional Swine Management, the Carthage swine service management company. Dr Hollis was named the AASV Swine Practitioner of the Year in 2019. He is a Pork Quality Assurance Plus Advisor, served on the National Pork Producers Council Animal Health Food Security Policy Committee, and served on the National Pork Board Swine Health Committee. He has served on the American Veterinary Medical Association House of Delegates representing AASV, and on the AASV Board of Directors representing District 5. Dr Hollis is an active participant in the National Pork Board Operation Main Street program giving local presentations to raise awareness about modern pork production.
When asked to comment on his thoughts about the future of AASV and his tenure as president, Dr Hollis said, “Our members are facing a new set of challenges. Not tougher than those of earlier generations, just different. We have such a global presence today. Our clients’ profitability depends on a robust export market. Foreign animal diseases are moving closer to our borders, making the stakes and risks incredibly high. We also face internal disease pressure which is worsening. Significant population losses from infectious disease have become too commonplace. We as an association must face these challenges with confidence in the scientific knowledge of disease prevention and control, while further challenging the status quo. We cannot accept a progressively worse disease challenge environment. We must rise to the challenge to protect our clients, improve the health and security of our pigs, and further the leadership position of the AASV.”
Dr Hollis and his wife, who is also a veterinarian, have been married 27 years and have raised two children.
AASV President-elect Dr Angela Baysinger (Missouri ‘92) currently serves as the North American Animal Welfare Lead for all species for Merck Animal Health. Dr Baysinger completed her undergraduate studies in animal science and her DVM at the University of Missouri. She received a master of science in epidemiology from the University of Nebraska. Additionally, she received a master of science in international animal welfare, ethics, and law in December of 2021 from the University of Edinburgh, partially funded by the AASV Alex Hogg Memorial Scholarship. Dr Baysinger was honored with the AASV Meritorious Service Award in 2021 and delivered the prestigious Howard Dunne lecture in 2022. She has served on multiple AASV committees as a member and chair and on the AASV Board of Directors representing District 8. Dr Baysinger lives near Bruning, Nebraska with her family.
AASV Vice President Dr Locke Karriker (Mississippi State ‘99) grew up on a small, diversified farm in Eastern North Carolina. Dr Karriker received his BS in 1995 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he attended as a Morehead Scholar. He earned his DVM and MS from Mississippi State University. He was awarded Diplomate status from the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine in 2006. After practicing in an integrated production system, he joined the faculty at Iowa State Univer- sity Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine Department where he is currently a Morrill Professor and holds the Dr Douglas and Ann Gustafson Professorship for Teaching Excellence in Veterinary Medicine. He is also the director of the Swine Medicine Education Center, with a mission to teach every swine medicine skill and provide a place for students to practice those skills in modern farm environments. Dr Karriker joined AASV as a veterinary student in 1996. He has served the association as District 6 Director, cochair of the Collegiate Activities Committee, member of the Program Planning Committee, member of the Pharmaceutical Issues Committee, member of the AASV-National Pork Board Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance, and member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. He delivered the 2011 Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture and was honored with the AASV Howard Dunne Memorial Award in 2014.
Commenting on his upcoming role as vice president, Dr Karriker said, “I am looking forward to working with the phenomenal leadership, staff, and members of the association as we tackle ever more complex health challenges to insure pig health and well-being.”
Dr Karriker lives in Ames, Iowa with his wife, Racheal, and children Adley and Vaughn.
AASV Past President Dr Michael Senn (KSU ’91) has served AASV with two terms on the board of directors, as a committee member, as chair of the Foreign Animal Disease Committee, as a student presentation judge, and on the AASV Foundation Board of Directors. During his career, he has worked as a mixed-animal practitioner, swine production veterinarian, and as a technical services veterinarian, providing technical support for products and focused on clinical research, antimicrobial resistance monitoring, antibiotic regulatory issues, and emerging infectious disease surveillance. He continues to work as an independent consultant and looks forward to continued opportunities to serve AASV. Dr Senn lives in Newton, Kansas with his wife, Stephanie, and his children Annika and Jakob, who are KSU students.
AASV proceedings and seminar papers online
Were you unable to attend the AASV Annual Meeting? Or perhaps you could not attend all the presentations you were interested in. Good news: the conference proceedings are available online to all AASV members at aasv.org/library/proceedings/ (2023 membership dues-paid status required).
The proceedings papers are available in several formats:
- “Big book” of the papers for the regular meeting sessions in a single PDF file with a linked table of contents
- Seminar booklets – PDF file for each seminar
- Individual papers in the Swine Information Library (aasv.org/library/swineinfo)
Happy reading!
Salary Survey 2023
The AASV is conducting its 8th survey of swine-veterinarian income and benefits. Active members of the AASV (non-retired veterinarians) in the United States or Canada can access the survey by logging into their AASV member account at aasv.org/members.
Your participation is important, even if your work only partially involves swine-related activities! Similar surveys have been conducted every 3 years since 2002. Members have found the resulting salary and benefit summary useful when seeking employment or preparing to hire veterinary professionals in the swine industry. The survey results have also been used to inform veterinary students about the career opportunities available in swine medicine.
Members of AASV are divided into 2 survey groups according to their employment type. The practitioner survey should be completed by members engaged in private practice, as well as those who oversee pig health for a production or genetics company. Members who work for a university, corporation, or government and are engaged in education, research, technical services, public health, or regulatory work should complete the survey for public/corporate veterinarians.
In addition to 2022 income and benefits, the survey requests information about education and training, employment type, and hours worked. Responses are confidential and the results are reported in a manner to ensure participant anonymity.
The overall results of the salary and compensation survey will be published and distributed for use by AASV members and students. Previous survey results are available for members to access on the AASV website.
Save the date: AASV Annual Meeting
February 24-27, 2024
Nashville, Tennessee
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center