Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 10, 1994 TAG: 9409120075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The fall meeting of the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association opened Friday with a moment of silence to honor Richard B. Talbot, the founding dean of the Virginia/Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.
Talbot, 61, was killed late Thursday in the crash of USAir flight 427 near Pittsburgh. The veterinarians were gathered in the college he launched when he was hired in 1974.
"If it were not for him, literally, this school would not be in existence today," Associate Dean Blair Meldrum said from his office at the school.
Colleagues described Talbot as a visionary, a leader, a family man of integrity and, perhaps most important of all, a nice person. The internationally known educator was known for pioneering work with computers in the field of veterinary medicine, helping to build databases and to coordinate computer language to connect the 27 veterinary schools in the United States.
Former Tech President William Lavery recalled that he took over at the university not long after Talbot came aboard.
"When I became president - he was known as 'the dean without a college' - I said to him if he would stay on, I could make the establishment of the college of veterinary medicine my top priority. We worked at it for two or three years to get it established.
"He was totally dedicated, worked hard and never gave up," Lavery said.
It was Talbot's job not only to help lobby Richmond legislators, but to put together a partnership with the state of Maryland, where the college has an adjunct campus. At the time, the construction of another veterinary school in the South was controversial.
Lavery said former Gov. John Dalton was the one "who understood the need and gave the final go-ahead. He said he would recommend to the General Assembly they spend $8 million if Bill Lavery and Dick Talbot could figure out how to raise another $8 million to get it started."
Talbot "did a superb job of getting the school off the ground," said Gordon Davies, director of the state Council for Higher Education. "When he stepped down as dean, he left it strong."
Talbot stepped down as dean after the first class graduated in 1984, two years after the first building for the college was completed. Colleagues said he seemed to feel he had established the school and that it was time to move on.
In recent years he taught physiology at the school and focused on computer work. In two leaves of absence during the '80s, Talbot worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including a stint as director of the Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation.
He was prominent in many professional associations and was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.
Talbot was in Chicago this week for a meeting of a group working on computer development of veterinary information for the American Veterinary Medical Association. His longtime colleague at the association, Edward Ames, said news of Talbot's death shocked everyone.
"The editor of our journal came in this morning, and said, 'The guy didn't have an enemy in the world.' He was a delightful person," Ames said.
Talbot was the former dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. A Kansas native, he received a Ph.D. from Iowa State University and his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Kansas State University.
"As a colleague and fellow dean, I have the greatest respect for Dick's professionalism and capabilities while he diligently worked to create a new school and a new concept," Tech President Paul Torgersen said.
In addition to his professional associations, Talbot was active in the Rotary Club of Blacksburg, of which he was president last year. He also was a member of Blacksburg Presbyterian Church.
Until recently, colleagues said, Talbot had raised cattle part time at his Giles County farm.
"He believed strongly in the family unit," Meldrum, the associate dean, said. "He took time to be able to do those kinds of things, and he respected others' need for privacy."
At the vet school Friday, some wondered how to create an appropriate memorial to Talbot.
"We've been talking a little bit about what we should do," Dean Peter Eyre said. "We're not in a position to know what to do, but I'm sure we'll do something very special to remember him by - establish a professorship or a scholarship. Something of that sort, I am sure, would have met with his approval."
"He was just a very, very nice man," Davies said. "A very nice man."
Talbot is survived by his wife, Jane, two children, Lee and Andrea, and grandchildren.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB