Steven A. Osofsky, DVM, recently joined Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine as the Jay Hyman Professor of Wildlife Health. The position is within the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences. The position holds personal meaning to Dr. Osofsky, according to the college, which announced the news in early July. “[Dr. Hyman] was a local hero in Rockland County where I grew up, and I had the privilege of knowing him and seeking his counsel even before I embarked upon my veterinary training,” said Osofsky. “Dr. Hyman endowed the professorship while I was a Cornell veterinary student, and I actually remember thinking that someday, I would be honored to serve in such a unique and catalytic role.” Osofsky, who is part of the new Master of Public Health program, will work with experts from several other Cornell colleges. He will address the issues that arise at the interface of free-ranging wildlife, agriculture and human health and livelihoods, the college noted. He will also engage with other cross-campus initiatives and centers such as Engaged Cornell and the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. “Cornell today is very much about teamwork that capitalizes upon the vast array of disciplinary expertise available across the university, and I am very excited about the opportunity to work with colleagues within the college, across campus and beyond,” Osofsky said. Osofsky’s primary focus, according to the college, is on addressing science policy gaps in order to create enabling environments within which wildlife conservation, at landscape scales, can be both socioculturally acceptable and economically rational.
