OBITUARIES
Vet School Dean
Mark W. Allam, 89, who elevated the School of Veterinary Medicine to the best in the nation in the years from 1953 to 1973 when he served as its dean, died April 28 at his home in Swarthmore.
Under his tenure, the school's faculty increased, the school's focus on basic and clinical research was established and New Bolton Center was created and developed into the nation's leading research and treatment facility for large animals. The reputation of the school rose to number one in the nation.
"He was probably the most successful dean of any veterinary school in the 20th century," said the current dean, Alan Kelly.
Allam was more than the founder of New Bolton. He made it a part of his life. Until recently, Allam was a familiar sight there, driving around high atop a carriage in his bowler and driving apron. And he and his late wife, Lila, worked to restore the manor house there, which was named in honor of them.
The rural landscape of New Bolton Center was close to Allam's native environment. He grew up on a farm outside Philadelphia and graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine in 1932. While in practice as a veterinarian in Media, he took courses in surgery at the School of Medicine, learning the principles of aseptic surgery. That knowledge led him to apply the principles to the animal surgery he performed in his practice.
When Allam joined the faculty of the School of Veterinary Medicine in 1945, he brought aseptic surgery to the school, and the technique that had been accepted as standard in human medicine became standard in veterinary medicine as well.
Under his deanship, he obtained funding for the first endowed professorship at a school of veterinary medicine anywhere. Besides building New Bolton Center with contributions from the horse breeders and owners in the area, he also brought his considerable fund-raising skills to Harrisburg, securing Commonwealth support for the school.
He received an honorary degree from the University in 1984 at a special convocation for the centennial anniversary of the School of Veterinary Medicine, and five years later received the Centennial Medal from the school. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons, an organization he helped to found, created an annual lecture in his honor in 1982, and the American Veterinary Medical Association honored him with its AVMA Award in 1969.
He is survived by two daughters, Shelly A. Rosato of Elverson, Pa., and Maryjane A. Downey of Newark, Del.; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; a sister, Dorothy Allam of Lima, Pa.; and a brother, Robert Allam, of Wallingford.