Meet your colleagues: Ronald W. Gordon

Ronald W. Gordon, who was recently named the 2007 TurnKey Facility Leader of the Year, is Manager of Animal Facilities at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. He has over 30 years of laboratory animal experience beginning at Yale University where he co-authored Yale’s first Animal Welfare Bibliography. Gordon also chairs the Wesleyan IACUC. He is an active volunteer and participant in several organizations including serving on the editorial boards of the The LAMA Review and the Journal of AALAS.

Animal Lab News: What set you on the path to your current career?

Ronald Gordon: I started out interested in becoming a medical doctor. Along the way I found myself working in an animal research laboratory. I then realized that I could perhaps contribute more to the field of medicine by doing animal research than working as a practicing physician.

I very soon came to realize that the good care and well-being of the research animals was a vital factor to the quality of the research being performed on them. I then moved into a career of animal facility management and animal welfare compliance to help assure the required highest quality care of our laboratory research animals.

Animal Lab News: What’s the best/most rewarding part of your job?

Ronald Gordon: The most rewarding part of my job is being able to expeditiously overcome any obstacles to a productive day in the operation of our animal facility.

Animal Lab News: What’s the worst part of your job?

Ronald Gordon: The worst part of the job is sometimes not being able to bring about change, whether it be the physical structure, needed equipment or required staffing, expeditiously enough to maintain, what I consider to be the very highest quality care of the research animals.

Animal Lab News: Describe your most memorable day on the job.

Ronald Gordon: The most memorable day on the job was when I learned that a new science building was to be built that would house a new very much needed state-of-the-art vivarium.

Animal Lab News: What do you think is the most important advance in the animal facilities field of the past five years?

Ronald Gordon: One of the most important advances in the animal facilities field over the last five years is the continuous improvement of equipment, such as with animal housing. The design of ventilated rodent cage housing units for instance, just gets better and better.

Animal Lab News: What is the biggest misconception about your field?

Ronald Gordon: The biggest misconception about the field is, of course, by those who feel that research animals are not well cared for. Those animal care technicians that I have had the pleasure and honor to work with over many years are the most dedicated individuals who are the most sincere animal lovers that I have ever encountered in my close to forty year career working in animal science.

Animal Lab News: What is your proudest professional accomplishment?

Ronald Gordon: My proudest professional accomplishment was being honored as the 2005 recipient of the Charles River Medallion Award. I believe that there is no finer honor that can be bestowed upon one self than one that is received from your colleagues of many years. Prior recipients were my mentors, and friends who I had the greatest admiration. For my colleagues, who are amongst the very finest world leaders in the field of laboratory animal management, to share with me this most distinguished recognition, I will be forever honored.