"Compassion and Commitment: Veterinary Medicine as a Model for the 21st Century" is the topic for Patricia "Patty" Olson in a Sept. 27 presentation at 5:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall I of the Veterinary Education Center at Cornell.

The talk by the internationally known expert in animal welfare and pet overpopulation issues is open to the general public at no charge.

A board-certified theriogenologist, Olson is a former member of the faculties of Colorado State University and University of Minnesota, where she was director of the Center to Study Human and Animal Relationships and Environments. Her efforts led to the formation of the National Council on Pet Overpopulation and Policy, which is composed of 11 national humane and veterinary organizations working to reduce the number of animals euthanized because they are homeless.

Olson is the veterinary adviser to the International Air Transport Association and director of training operations for Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. She is the recipient of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation's Humane Ethics in Action Award and the American Animal Hospital Association's Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare Award. When she received the Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian-of-the-Year Award, she donated the prize to Cornell veterinary students who used the funds to found the club, Veterinary Students for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.