Meet Dr. Willie Reed: The Dean and Veterinarian whose Persistence Met Purpose

Support from family can have a life-changing impact. It’s something Dr. Willie Reed learned at an early age when others questioned his ambition to become a veterinarian. In this episode of On Purpose, the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at 美国普渡大学 and a Zoetis Board Member talks about growing up during desegregation in the South, the heroes who stood behind his dream and how he helps others pursue theirs.

Dr. Reed’s story begins in a small, rural town in Alabama, where he was sent to a desegregated school to begin first grade.

“I was just a little happy kid, having a great time with my classmates, and all of a sudden it stopped. I wasn’t able to go back to school…. I discovered the parents of my classmates were protesting (the desegregation) and basically shut down the whole school…. That was a very traumatic experience for me.”

While Dr. Reed’s parents fought to get him back in school, Dr. Reed’s grandmother taught him first grade from her front porch. It was the same grandmother and other family members who encouraged him to chase his dream of becoming a veterinarian.

“The inspiration growing up had to be my father and grandmother and mother. They kept pushing. They kept encouraging. They kept supporting, and I always felt I could not let them down.”

Dr. Reed applied and was accepted to Tuskegee University, the place where he saw a veterinarian of color for the very first time. In the years that followed, he obtained a number of degrees and developed a love for diagnostic pathology.

“It’s detective work. You have to bring together all the things you learned in vet school and apply it to a problem. For example, you have 1,000 dairy cows, and you find 10 to 15 of them are dead. What is wrong with my animals? Could all of them die? So, they bring them to the diagnostic lab, and there’s a diagnostic pathologist to figure it out…. Hopefully, we can treat the remaining ones and save the individual’s livelihood. That is a very rewarding experience.”

When he reflects on many of his experiences, Dr. Reed says growing up during desegregation propelled him to dream big and achieve a career that many thought was impossible. Along that unique journey, his own purpose took shape.

“My own purpose is…trying to help others pursue their dreams, because when I was growing up, I was around a lot of talented people. And they didn’t make it. They could have achieved great things if they had had a little more support – a great grandmother like I had and great parents…. My purpose has been trying to help others because of the people who helped me. They are long gone, and I can’t repay them. But what I can do? I can help others.”

Thank you, Dr. Reed, for your persistence and purpose and the tremendous impact you’ve had on veterinarians, animals and across the industry.