Dr. Willie M Reed, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue University, was named the inaugural recipient of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Frederick Douglass Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award.  This distinction recognizes leadership in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. The Award was established by the AVMA is in recognition of Dr. Patterson who received his DVM degree from Iowa State University in 1923 followed by a Ph. D. in 1931 from Cornell University.  He was President of the Tuskegee Institute and was instrumental in the development into a university.  He was responsible for establishing the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine and the United Negro College Fund in 1944.

Dr. Reed was selected by the AVMA Board of Directors and received this award at the AVMA Convention in Denver. The award recognizes veterinarians who have made significant contributions to the profession by advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Dr. Reed earned his Baccalaureate and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees at Tuskegee University and completed a doctorate in veterinary pathology at Purdue University in 1982.  Dr. Reed wasawarded the Doctor of Science honoris causa from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London in 2018.

He served as an Associate Professor of Avian Pathology and Chief of Avian Disease Diagnostic Services thereafter.  In 1990, he was appointed Professor and Director of the Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory at Michigan State University and was later Chairperson of the Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation.  In 2007, Dr. Reed returned to Purdue as Dean of the College of  Veterinary Medicine.  His achievements include modernization of teaching, expansion of clinical and research facilities, expanding the class size and increasing the diversity of the student body.