Dr. Wichtel is the current chair of the AFI Internal Advisory Committee.

Dr. Jeff Wichtel is passionate about veterinary medicine. The dean of the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) has a vision for building on OVC’s reputation for excellence to help improve lives and health.

First appointed dean of the OVC in 2015, Wichtel was reappointed to the position for a second five-year term in fall 2020.

An advocate of the One Health concept, Wichtel promotes an interdisciplinary approach to addressing complex issues impacting the health of humans, animals and the environment.

His extensive experience and knowledge as an administrator, researcher and clinician has helped build OVC’s reputation, nationally and globally, including during unprecedented global challenges.

Aiming to build external relations for the college, Wichtel has secured notable philanthropic support for research and teaching facilities, training, diagnostic tools, student well-being and experiential learning, veterinary mental health research and scholarships and bursaries.

Holder of a faculty appointment in OVC’s Department of Population Medicine, Wichtel is a well-known researcher and author in food animal nutrition, disease, production and reproduction. He has contributed to development projects related to livestock agriculture and food security in Kenya and Haiti.

Before joining U of G, Wichtel was associate dean, graduate studies and research, at Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island.

Previously, he taught at Massey University in New Zealand and in the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University. He has also been a resident at Iowa State University and a mixed animal practitioner.

He earned his B.V.Sc. and PhD from Massey University and is board-certified by the American College of Theriogenologists.