About Us

about us

Dr. Charles A. Hjerpe, DVM

This Fellowship is to recognize and honor Dr. Charlie Hjerpe, a visionary leader and main driver behind the pioneering 70’s concept of herd heath. Dr. Hjerpe was not only the “father” of Herd Health and preventive medicine for cattle at UC Davis, but he was also a dedicated instructor of veterinary students at the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine, and a capable administrator and leader in clinical instruction of veterinary and post graduate students.

From these beginnings, that Charlie so well described and taught, the profession has expanded to include the community where the business is located and impacts from the business on the environment including those affecting land, air and water, and an expanded view of cattle well-being.

Dr. Hjerpe established master’s degree projects in epidemiology which helped move the industry forward and prepared veterinarians to understand herd health in new ways. The following quote from the early 70’s summarizes Charlie’s vision on animal care and commitment to herd health:

It has been my opinion that clinical, on-farm, food animal veterinary medicine should be about biosecurity, accurate diagnosis, disease monitoring, identification of economically important diseases, and implementation of cost-effective vaccination, treatment, nutrition, housing, feeding and management strategies that are tailored to preventing (or controlling) the specific, economically important diseases and production constraints that are known (or likely) to be present on specific premises. I would have to say that this vision for the future of food, animal veterinary medicine appears more evident now than at any time, previously.

Our Vision

To develop the elite dairy enterprise leaders of tomorrow

Our Mission

The Hjerpe Fellowship will provide dairy veterinarians with an elite international education in business finance, capital markets, risk management and leadership, while focusing on key dairy enterprise elements to assure the U.S. dairy industry remains the world leader and most competitive dairy industry of the future.

Over time, the Fellows and Fellowship will develop one of the most complete and comprehensive resources of successful dairy enterprise knowledge in the world.

Our Purpose

The purpose of The Dr. Charles A Hjerpe Fellowship is to acknowledge Dr. Hjerpe’s pioneering vision and accomplishments in herd health/preventive medicine, and to continue his legacy by developing food animal veterinarians with the knowledge and skills to meet society’s needs for food animal production.

The Charles A Hjerpe Fellowship will offer a unique, tailored, and high-value educational program to prepare the dairy veterinarian to maintain his/her respected position as a key leader in the health of the Dairy Cow and in the changing management needs of the dairy farm enterprise.

Defining the Future of the Dairy Industry

To identify the future needs of the U.S. dairy enterprise we surveyed over twenty prominent U.S. dairy farmers, expert dairy veterinarian professionals, academicians and industry leaders. Their input together with the expertise of the Fellowship Board of Directors became the foundation of the design of the Hjerpe Fellowship and the information that follows.

Notably, every dairy farm interviewed signed up as a participating Dairy Farm to the Fellowship.

MANAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS OF SURVEYED U.S. LEADING DAIRY FARMERS FOR 2030 & BEYOND

Financial, risk management and capital markets exceptionalism
Highly automated and data-driven decisions
Superior leadership in management with expertise in leadership training, dairy genetic superiority
Parlor and housing excellence
Expertise in managing 10,000 plus herd size
Cow and ecosystem centric focus
Diversified income strategies

Core Values.

Science Driven

Collaborative

Open to All

Greater Good

Choose Your Path to Success

Tell us about yourself, as we share with you the value of The Hjerpe Fellowship.

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About the Endowment

The Dr. Charles A Hjerpe Fellowship is funded by an endowment. The endowment will include donations from individuals, not-for-profits, institutions and corporations. These gifts create an enduring source of funding, linking scholars and learners from diverse backgrounds through the Fellowship, now and into the future.

Endowment FAQs

What is an endowment?

An endowment is a long-term funding source composed of donated gifts, designed to support the mission and activities of a philanthropic organization, such as a university. Each year, a portion of the endowment is distributed to finance the organization’s work, while any additional growth beyond this distribution is retained in the endowment to ensure it continues to grow and benefit future generations.

Why is an endowment important?

Many endowments, including Fellowship’s, are designed to exist indefinitely, requiring the institution to depend on the endowment’s earnings perpetually.

Consequently, our endowment supports not only the current generation but also all future generations of the Hjerpe Fellowship students and scholars. Adhering to the principle of intergenerational equity, the Hjerpe endowment is meticulously managed to ensure that future generations will benefit from it just as much as the present one.

What does the Hjerpe Fellowship’s endowment support?

The Hjerpe Fellowship’s endowment is vital to our excellence in teaching, learning, and research, as well as the Hjerpe Fellowship’s mission-driven initiatives, partnerships, and case studies with over twenty leading dairy farms across the nation. Rooted in a tradition of philanthropy, the endowment funds a wide array of activities and efforts, including scholarships, Fellows’ salaries, and much more.