The Center for Zoonoses Research was established in 1960 for the purpose of implementing the necessary interdisciplinary cooperation and coordination of research in the area of diseases common to man and animals.1 At the time it was instituted, the Center was the second one in the world, and the only one in the United States.2 It attempts to coordinate the research contributions of zoologists, ecologists, epidemiologists, microbiologists, climatologists, and other specialists.3 The facilities of the College of Veterinary Medicine provide laboratory, farm, and office areas for the Center.4 The laboratory studies on the Urbana campus also support another important aspect of the Center's program, Project Sizon (Southern Illinois Zoonotic Observational Network), which performs field work in a quadri-county area of southern Illinois.5
The staff of the Center for Zoonoses Research is composed of three types of members: Senior Members and Associate Members, who are affiliated with departments of the University, and Consulting Members, who are affiliated with institutions and organizations other than the University of Illinois.6 The Center is administered by a Director (the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine), an Associate Director, and an Executive Committee composed of Senior Members.7
1. Board of Trustees Transactions, 50th Report, April 20, 1960, p. 1258.
2. Ibid., pp. 1258-59.
3. "Illinois Laws Affecting Human and Animal Health", University of Illinois Bulletin 62(28): November, 1964, p. 102.
4. Proposal for Zoonoses Research Center at the University of Illinois, 1959, p. 13.
5. Introduction to the Illinois Center for Zoonoses Research, p. 4.
6. Board of Trustees Transactions, 50th Report, April 20, 1960, p. 1259.
7. Ibid., p. 1259.