Dr. Ralph Richardson
Olathe, KS | rcr@ksu.edu
Dr. Ralph Richardson served as dean and CEO of the K-State Olathe campus (2015-2019) after serving as dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University (1998-2015). He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Specialty of Internal Medicine) and a Charter Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Specialty of Oncology). He graduated from Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1970 and served as a Captain in the United States Army Veterinary Corps from 1970 to 1972. He completed an Internship at Purdue University in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery in 1973 and a Residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia in Small Animal Internal Medicine in 1975. After a year in private practice in Miami, FL, he returned to Purdue University to begin his academic career. He moved to K-State after 22 years at Purdue University, leaving there as Professor and Head of the Clinical Sciences Department. During his time at Purdue, he completed a Training Program in Clinical Oncology at the University of Kansas Medical School, consulted in private practice in Chicago, IL, helped establish the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program where pets with naturally-occurring cancer served as animal models for humans with cancer, and provided leadership to grow the veterinary teaching, research and extension programs at Purdue. At Kansas State University, Dr. Richardson was instrumental in establishing legislation that provided debt forgiveness to new veterinary graduates who served the livestock industry in rural Kansas. He was a member of the inaugural Board of Directors of the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, and he facilitated the creation of numerous programs such as the Beef Cattle Institute, the Center for Vector-borne Diseases, the expansion of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and the building of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility. Dr. Richardson is Past President of the Veterinary Cancer Society, the Specialty of Oncology in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians. He is a member of numerous professional veterinary medical associations and organizations. Dr. Richardson is the 2015 recipient of the Iron Paw Award (the animal health industry’s lifetime achievement award), the 2016 recipient of the Association of American Veterinary Medical College’s Recognition Lecture award, and the 2021 Jay B. Dillingham Agricultural Leadership and Excellence Award awarded by the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City.
Dr. Ralph Richardson served as dean and CEO of the K-State Olathe campus (2015-2019) after serving as dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University (1998-2015). He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Specialty of Internal Medicine) and a Charter Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Specialty of Oncology). He graduated from Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1970 and served as a Captain in the United States Army Veterinary Corps from 1970 to 1972. He completed an Internship at Purdue University in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery in 1973 and a Residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia in Small Animal Internal Medicine in 1975. After a year in private practice in Miami, FL, he returned to Purdue University to begin his academic career. He moved to K-State after 22 years at Purdue University, leaving there as Professor and Head of the Clinical Sciences Department. During his time at Purdue, he completed a Training Program in Clinical Oncology at the University of Kansas Medical School, consulted in private practice in Chicago, IL, helped establish the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program where pets with naturally-occurring cancer served as animal models for humans with cancer, and provided leadership to grow the veterinary teaching, research and extension programs at Purdue. At Kansas State University, Dr. Richardson was instrumental in establishing legislation that provided debt forgiveness to new veterinary graduates who served the livestock industry in rural Kansas. He was a member of the inaugural Board of Directors of the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, and he facilitated the creation of numerous programs such as the Beef Cattle Institute, the Center for Vector-borne Diseases, the expansion of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and the building of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility. Dr. Richardson is Past President of the Veterinary Cancer Society, the Specialty of Oncology in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians. He is a member of numerous professional veterinary medical associations and organizations. Dr. Richardson is the 2015 recipient of the Iron Paw Award (the animal health industry’s lifetime achievement award), the 2016 recipient of the Association of American Veterinary Medical College’s Recognition Lecture award, and the 2021 Jay B. Dillingham Agricultural Leadership and Excellence Award awarded by the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City.
Dr. Richardson is active in his local church by serving as an elder and participating in the church’s Biblical counseling ministry. Dr. Richardson and his wife Beverly have three married sons and live in Olathe, KS.