Summary: Dr. Patricia McEachern–the Dorothy Jo Barker Endowed Professor of Animal Rights at Drury University in Springfield, MO–recounts how former “The New Price Is Right” host Bob Barker (Drury is his alma mater, the professorship is named in honor of his late wife) approached the school with the notion of making $1 million donation if Drury could create a program to truly help animals & animal welfare. From there, the Drury University Forum on Animals Rights was created, and then Barker made another $1 million donation to provide the resources for Drury to offer an 18-hour, interdisciplinary minor in Animal Studies, and freeing up McEachern’s time (she had been a professor of French) to oversee the program. She also addresses how a French professor ended up a Professor of Animal Rights, describes the key components of the minor, and outlines her hopes and aspirations for the program, including, ultimately, the school offering a major in Animal Studies and a master’s degree in the field. (http://www.drury.edu/section/section.cfm?sid=377) ALSO:We had another brief conversation with Libby Boosalis, our friend and “Talking Animals” family member who, in early January, decided to go vegan. We spoke with her on the Jan. 11 show, when she was just a few days into the conversion, then again on the Jan. 25 and Feb. 15 shows to get update. As she had allotted herself 60 days for this experience–and we were at Day 55 today–this may well represent the final such segment, at least for now. COMEDY CORNER: Myq Kaplan’s “Animal Rights and Wrongs” (www.MyqKaplan.com) MUSIC: Sunset Bridge’s “Good Ole Dog,” Radiohead’s “Morning Mr. Magpie,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Rolling Stone’s “Monkey Man”
