James L. Voss, DVM, former dean of the Colorado State University (CSU) College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and namesake for the school’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, died July 12 at a Fort Collins, Colo.-nursing facility following a long illness. Voss was 79.

“CSU’s world is a little dimmer today for the passing of Dr. Jim Voss,” CSU president Tony Frank, DVM, PhD, said in a tribute to Voss posted on Today @ Colorado State. “It is no exaggeration to state that CSU’s veterinary medical program is a world leader in no small part because of Jim Voss. CSU lost a great leader and a great alum, and I lost a great friend.”

According to Today @ Colorado State, Voss began his career at CSU in 1958 as an ambulatory veterinarian before becoming a leading equine reproduction authority. He then served as dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences for 15 years before retiring in 2001.

Voss was a former president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and received the organization’s Distinguished Life Member award at the 2002 AAEP Convention. He also served the American Veterinary Medical Association and Colorado Veterinary Medical Association