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‘The Vet Life’ star, Tuskegee alum to deliver May 5 Veterinary Medicine commencement address

April 26, 2018

Contact: Anissa L. Riley, Office of External Affairs, College of Veterinary Medicine
  

Dr. Diarra Blue
Dr. Diarra Blue, veterinary medicine’s graduation speaker on May 5.

Diarra Blue, DVM, a 2009 alumnus of Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and one of the stars of Animal Planet’s “The Vet Life,” will deliver the college’s commencement address on Saturday, May 5, at 10 a.m. The veterinary medicine commencement and oath ceremony will be held in the Tuskegee University Chapel.

Blue graduated from Tuskegee with a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 2009. He is one of three founding members of the Animalscopic Veterinarian Group and one of the stars of Animal Planet’s hit television series “The Vet Life,” which recently completed its third season.

Blue, along with his “The Vet Life” costars — Tuskegee veterinary medicine alumni Dr. Michael Lavigne III ’07 and Dr. Aubrey Ross II ’07 — serve as business partners for their successful veterinary practice in Cypress, Texas — Cy-Fair Animal Hospital. Their practice is dedicated to providing exceptional quality veterinary care through educating the community, and training and mentoring future and new veterinarians.

“We are honored to have Dr. Blue as this year’s commencement speaker,” said Dr. Ruby L. Perry, DACVR, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “He is obviously very busy with filming for ‘The Vet Life’ — on top of co-running Cy-Fair Animal Hospital, and being an involved dad and husband. So taking time out of his demanding schedule to speak at his alma mater truly means a great deal to the veterinary medicine family.”

The Vet Life cast standing with dogs
“The Vet Life” stars and Tuskegee veterinary alumni (L to R):
Dr. Diarra Blue,
Dr. Michael Lavigne and Dr. Aubrey Ross.

This year marks the university’s second veterinary medicine-specific graduation ceremony. Having a graduation ceremony for veterinary medicine students separate from the university’s commencement exercises allows the college to confer doctoral degrees while with hooding and administering the Veterinarian’s Oath to its graduates in the same venue.

“The college’s inaugural graduation ceremony last year was such a huge success, and another historic milestone for the college, which is the only veterinary program housed at a historically black college or university, and the most diverse veterinary medicine program in the nation,” Perry said. “We are excited that the university’s administration is supportive of us making this an annual tradition for the veterinary medicine graduates of the class of 2018.”

Tuskegee University’s commencement-related events begin with College of Veterinary Medicine’s commencement exercises on Saturday, May 5, and conclude with the university’s 133rd Spring Commencement Exercises, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12. For more information about these events, visit www.tuskegee.edu/commencement.

© 2018 Tuskegee University