Two IIT-Affiliated Faculty Take on New Roles in CVM
April 8, 2026
Two IIT-affiliated faculty members, Dr. Colleen Hegg and Dr. Stephan Carey, have recently taken on new roles in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Hegg was named the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, effective April 1. This appointment reflects Dr. Hegg’s longstanding leadership in graduate education and her expanded contributions beyond the College’s Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology (CMIB) Program, of which she serves as director. In her new role, she will lead and oversee the College’s graduate education portfolio, including the CMIB Program, the dual DVM/PhD program, the online Master of Science in Food Safety, the Master of Science in Veterinary Biomedical Systems, and emerging graduate programs. She will drive academic excellence, student success, program growth, and alignment with institutional and accreditation standards. The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies is a new role within the College and will partner closely with the Associate Dean for Research - a position held by another IIT-affiliated faculty member, Dr. James Luyendyk. Hegg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and her research focuses on the role of purinergics in neuroregeneration of olfactory receptor neurons. 
Dr. Carey was named the Associate Dean for Student Engagement and Success (SES), effective March 1. In this role, Carey will lead the College’s SES Office, which provides pre-veterinary advising, professional student services, academic support, and connections to university services (such as financial aid and student health). He will also oversee the administration of the DVM admissions cycle, ensuring a consistent, equitable, and evidence-based process. He will partner closely with the College’s Veterinary Nursing Program, the Office of Professional Education, the Office of Health and Wellbeing, and key units across campus to provide coordinated, multi-dimensional support to students at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Carey is a Professor and Associate Chairperson in Small Animal Internal Medicine in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences. His research focuses on investigating the effects of air pollutants on the developing respiratory airways of children; correlations between morphologic alterations, such as epithelial injury, cell death, repair, and biochemical responses, such as changed in gene expression and cellular antioxidant regulation in the airways; and comparative studies of airway disease in companion animals and other species.