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Former RCVS president among 10 to receive SRUC Fellowship
Kate Richards, former RCVS president, received an honourary Fellowship.
Kate Richards and Scotland CVO Sheila Voas were recognised in a ceremony.

The chief veterinary officer for Scotland and a former president of the RCVS were among 10 people recognised by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) for their impact on health in the UK.

Sheila Voas and Kate Richards received honorary Fellowships from SRUC as part of the college’s graduation ceremony at Bute Hall, Glasgow.

Mrs Voas became the CVO for Scotland in 2012. Since taking on the role, she has seen a reduction of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) herd incidence in the country, as well as achieving Scottish TB Free status.

Her work has also supported efforts to tackle avian influenza and prevent bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Mrs Voas is an advocate for SRUC’s new School of Veterinary Medicine.

Also recognised was Kate Richards, who sat as president of the RCVS from 2021-2022.

Dr Richards’ career has seen her work in farm animal practice, pharmaceuticals and the civil service. As well as her RCVS presidency, Dr Richards’ non-executive directorship roles have included the Board of the SRUC and the Council of the RCVS.

While at the RCVS, Dr Richards chaired a number of RCVS committees including Education, Standards and the Mind Matters Initiative.

Dr Richards is also a member of the Food Standards Scotland and Moredun Research Boards, and serves as a governor of The Glasgow Academy.

Other recipients of honorary SRUC Fellowships included biologist Appolinaire Djikeng, presenter Carole Baxter and Iain Gillespie, principal of the University of Dundee. John MacDonald, who lectured at the SRUC for 40 years, has been made an Emeritus Fellow.

Wayne Powell, principal and chief executive of the SRUC, said: “We are absolutely delighted to appoint these extraordinary individuals as Honorary Fellows of SRUC.

“As SRUC progresses on its mission to become an enterprise university at the heart of the natural economy, their skills and connections will be of key importance in helping us to achieve our strategic goals. I look forward to working with each of them as we continue our collaborations moving forwards.”

Image © SRUC

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Germany livestock import ban lifted

The UK government has amended its ban on the import of livestock, meat and dairy products from Germany.

Defra said the decision follows 'rigorous technical assessment' of the measures applied and the current situation. "If the situation changes, we will not hesitate to take necessary action in response to the FMD outbreaks in the European Union to protect our domestic biosecurity," it said.

The ban was implemented in January following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) near Berlin. Personal imports of meat, milk and dairy products will remain in place at a country level.