Who was the first dean of Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine who worked to eradicate the Texas fever tick in Alabama cattle?

• A. Dr. Charles Allen Cary
• B. Dr. Calvin Schwabe
• C. Dr. Henry Whitehead
• D. Dr. John Snow

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is how veterinary leadership connected education with real-world disease control. Charles Allen Cary, as the first dean of Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine, played a pivotal role not only in establishing the school but also in guiding the Alabama effort to eradicate the Texas fever tick from cattle. The Texas fever tick (Boophilus annulatus) transmits the parasite that causes Texas cattle fever, a serious disease that devastated cattle herds and beef production. Eradicating the tick required coordinated veterinary extension work, surveillance, and practical control measures such as dipping and pasture management. Cary’s leadership bridged academic training with state and federal disease-control efforts, helping to reduce tick populations and disease incidence. That combination of building an institution and leading a major public-health–oriented tick eradication program makes him the best answer.

The other names are known for different contexts: John Snow and Henry Whitehead are famous for human cholera investigations in 19th‑century London, not Auburn’s veterinary leadership or Alabama’s tick-eradication efforts. Calvin Schwabe is a prominent figure in veterinary epidemiology, but his spade of work is broader and not identified with being the first dean at Auburn or leading this specific eradication campaign.