The recipient of the first annual Outstanding Advisor Award for the College of Veterinary Medicine was Dr. Monica O. Howard, D.V.M., Ph. D. Dr. Howard received her D.V.M. from the Tuskegee Institute in 1982, and in 1990 she received her Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Pathology from Oklahoma State University. She then began her current position at Iowa State University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology. Since its inception, Dr. Howard has been a part of the advising program at the College of Veterinary Medicine. It is set up as a volunteer program. Faculty who volunteer are assigned a certain number of students based on the amount of time they've indicated they are willing or able to spend as an advisor. There are no guidelines set up that stipulate how much time or effort an instructor must put into his or her advisory position.