ACVS is pleased to announce the election results for the new president-elect and two new members of the ACVS Board of Regents.
President-elect is Kelly D. Farnsworth, DVM, MS, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons (DACVS); large animal regent is Jose M. Garcia-López, VMD, DACVS, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation; and small animal regent is Jason A. Syrcle, DVM, DACVS (Small Animal).
Each year, the ACVS Nominating Committee submits a proposed slate of candidates for president-elect, one large animal regent, and one small animal regent to the ACVS Board of Regents for approval. The approved slate is forwarded to the membership for a vote. In addition to the new president-elect and regents, Jan F. Hawkins, DVM, DACVS, is the chair of the ACVS Board of Regents, and Bryden J. Stanley, BVMS, MVetSc, MANZCVS, MRCVS, DACVS, is president. The president-elect, president, and chair serve one-year terms in each subsequent position.
Continuing as members of the ACVS Board of Regents are Laurent P. Guiot, DVM, DECVS, DACVS (Small Animal), Ursula Krotscheck, DVM, DACVS (Small Animal), David G. Levine, DVM, DACVSMR, DACVS (Large Animal), and Annette M. McCoy, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVS (Large Animal). Julie D. Smith, DVM, MBA, DACVS, CCRT, continues to serve as treasurer, and Ann T. Loew, EdM, CAE, as chief executive officer.
About Kelly Farnsworth
Dr. Farnsworth is a clinical professor of equine surgery at Washington State University. He is a 1993 graduate of Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation he completed an equine ambulatory internship at The Ohio State University followed by an equine surgery residency at the Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, VA. Dr. Farnsworth earned a master of science degree from Virginia Tech as part of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. In January 1999, he accepted a faculty position as an equine surgeon at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Farnsworth became board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2001. He has been a faculty member at Washington State University since 2002 and has been involved in the training of 21 ACVS surgery residents.
Dr. Farnsworth served the ACVS on the Board of Regents (2020–2023), the Residency Program Compliance Committee (2016–2019), the Examination Committee (2009–2012) and as its assistant chair (2012–2013), and the Ad hoc Job Analysis Committee (2015). Dr. Farnsworth also served on the Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee for the American Association of Equine Practitioners. He enjoys teaching surgery and communication skills to veterinary students and residents and helping them develop their careers. His clinical interests include orthopedic surgery and surgical oncology.
About Jose Garcia-López
Dr. García-López obtained his degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. He went on to complete a one-year equine internship at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center followed by a three-year large animal surgery residency with special focus on equine sports medicine at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. He became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2001 and a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2013.
Following his residency, Dr. Garcia-López spent two years as a lecturer in the section of equine sports medicine and imaging at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center. From 2002 through 2022, he returned to Tufts as an assistant then associate professor in large animal surgery. While at Tufts, his work focused on diagnosing and managing musculoskeletal disorders and using advanced imaging in the equine athlete. In 2022, he returned to the New Bolton Center where he is currently an associate professor of large animal surgery, with a focus on equine orthopedics including arthroscopy and fracture repair, lameness diagnosis and treatment, and advanced imaging.
Dr. García-López has been involved with ACVS as a volunteer in many capacities, including the ACVS Symposium and ACVS Surgery Summit, the Examination Committee, and Nominating Committee, as well as a member of the Residency Training Gap Analysis Task Force. He has been involved with AO VET since 2009 as faculty, committee member, and currently serves as chair of AO VET North America (2021–2024).
About Jason Syrcle
Dr. Syrcle is a professor of clinical small animal orthopedic surgery and serves as surgery section chief at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He graduated from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and completed an internship and surgery residency at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. He was previously a faculty member at Mississippi State University (2009–2019), where he served as chief of small animal surgery and ACVS residency program director.
Dr. Syrcle served as assistant director of the Residency Program Compliance Committee in 2023, following his service as a committee member (2020–2022). This service is commensurate with his dedication to resident training at both Mississippi State University and the University of Pennsylvania. In his role as mentor to more than 30 veterinary surgery residents, he has organized and instructed numerous laboratory courses for residents through industry partners and AO VET.
His residents have twice been awarded the Mark Bloomberg Award by the Veterinary Orthopedic Society and have received the best resident manuscript award from the Veterinary Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology journal. He became an ACVS Foundation Honored Mentor in 2023.
Dr. Syrcle is an AO VET faculty member and has served as a board member for the Veterinary Orthopedic Society. His clinical interests include fracture fixation, angular limb deformity correction, and total hip replacement.
Meet the entire 2024-2025 Board of Regents.
