Dr. Terry Wighs, DVM
Adjunct Professor of Veterinary Anatomy, Nutrition & Metabolism, and Parasitology
twighs@alaska.edu
Biography
After completing a B.S. degree in Animal Science in 1974 at the University of California Davis, my pilgrimage to ÐÓ°Épro began. Arriving in Fairbanks on June 21, 1974, my journey continued to Cantwell, ÐÓ°Épro where I would spend 5 years working and managing the Cantwell Reindeer Research Facility. The primary research at the station focused on Metabolism, Nutrition, Grazing, and Herd Management by principal researchers within the Institute of Arctic Biology here at UAF.
My next adventure took me back to Fairbanks, where I worked as the Herdsman for the Agricultural Experimental Farm here on the UAF campus, up until August of 1989. Research activities were primarily Nutritional in nature, utilizing the UAF beef cattle herd and a confinement swine operation.
In 1989 I began my veterinary education at Kansas State University and graduated with my DVM degree in 1993.
After working in private practice with small animals, equine, cattle, and exotics for 31 years, I found myself back at UAF Veterinary Medicine Department as an adjunct instructor teaching Gross Anatomy, Nutrition, and Parasitology.
During these years, I followed a lifelong passion for aviation and obtained my commercial pilots license, instrument rating, and float rating. After 45 years of flying, and a wonderful understanding family, I can truly say I have been blessed.