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Black Veterinary History

Zalk Veterinary Medical Library highlights Black veterinarians and veterinary history from their collection and beyond.

Biography

Debbye Turner Bell, DVM

MU CVM Class of 1991

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Dr. Debbye Turner Bell is a veterinarian, journalist, minister, motivational speaker, wife, and mother. 

Dr. Turner Bell divides her time doing veterinary public relations, youth and adult motivational and Christian speaking, and television broadcasting.  Although she is not currently in clinical practice in veterinary medicine, she has promoted responsible pet ownership and proper veterinary care for pets through public service announcements, news features, and workshops.  Dr. Turner Bell has carried her message of pet care and motivation as far away as Rome, Italy, and Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Over the course of her career, Turner Bell has found time to serve on many local, state and national boards, including the National Council on Youth leadership, Children's Miracle Network, Missouri Division of Youth Services and Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club, and the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council, which is an advisory council to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which is an institute in the National Institutes of Health. 

 

Debbye Turner Bell and Dean Carolyn Henry, 2022

On December 16, 2022, Dr. Debbye Turner Bell received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Missouri. She is pictured here with Dean Carolyn Henry on campus.