Winners announced in UF College of Veterinary Medicine awards program

An alumnus whose humanitarian efforts have taken him to Bosnia and other parts of the world, a former college administrator who has given tirelessly of his time to students and a faculty member whose expertise in animal reproduction has been recognized worldwide are the first winners in a new University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine awards program.

The Distinguished Awards Program, an initiative of the college’s Alumni Council, was created last year to spotlight distinguished alumni and other special friends of the college. Three specific awards were designated, including one for alumni achievement, one for distinguished service, and one for special service.

Nominations were solicited from alumni, faculty and staff. The Alumni Council, chaired by Dr. Karen Zimmerman of Brooksville, selected the winners. The council opted to present the first awards at events being held in conjunction with the college’s 25 Anniversary celebration.

The first recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award is Dr. M. Scott Cornwell of Arcadia, a member of the college’s Class of 1982. Nominated by Sarah Carey director of public relations, and Dr. Paul Gibbs professor of epidemiology and infectious diseases at the college, Cornwell is a private practitioner who works with small and large animals, including the world-famous Herrmann Royal Lipizzan Stallions. He volunteers his veterinary services for the Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization of Fort Myers, where he also has taught basic veterinary and nutritional care for cattle, goats, sheep, chickens and rabbits for ECHO interns preparing to work with farmers overseas. Cornwell, who served in the Army from 1971-1973, continues to participate in the U.S. Army Reserves, where he holds the rank of lieutenant colonel. His military duties have taken him all over the world on various humanitarian service missions. Most recently, he spent eight months in Bosnia.

“Dr. Cornwell’s efforts in developing contacts between field veterinarians and relevant veterinary school departments, following the recently finished war in this country, really encourage us to believe that normal professional veterinary service here can still be delivered,” wrote Dr. Zijah Hadsiomerovic, dean of the Veterinary Faculty Sarajevo, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia.

The winner of the first Special Service Award is Dr. James Himes, a professor emeritus at the college who from 1977-1990 served as assistant dean and then associate dean for students and instruction at the college. “Although he has received awards from the Florida Veterinary Medical Association and service awards from individual classes in the past, Dr. Himes deserves this special distinction for our 25th anniversary,” wrote Dr. Gail Kunkle, a UF professor of small animal dermatology who nominated Himes for the award.

“Dr. Himes has always been a strong advocate and friend of the students who have passed through the halls of our College of Veterinary Medicine, beginning with the charter class,” Kunkle said. “He attended and participated -- danced, joked, et al. -- in all parties, listened to all types of problems, gave advice, wise counsel, and was an ever-present source of comfort, knowledge and support to our veterinary students, who now make up a significant portion of practitioners in the state.”

Although Himes became a professor emeritus in 1990, he continues to be an active member of the faculty and still attends many student events.

Dr. Victor Shille, a professor emeritus at the college, has received the Distinguished Service Award. After 14 years in private practice in California, he returned to the Davis campus to obtain his doctorate. He then spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Royal Veterinary College in Stockholm, Sweden.

When he joined the UF veterinary faculty in 1979, Shille helped develop the small animal reproductive component of the UF veterinary college’s curriculum, including the clinical program. That same year, he became editor of Theriogenology, a journal of animal reproductive medicine, that was at the time three years old.

“Not only has Theriogenology achieved international stature, but the man behind the scenes, Dr. Shille, has attained an international reputation,” wrote Dr. Maarten Drost, professor and specialist in large animal reproduction, who nominated Shille for the award. “The UF veterinary college can be proud to have been the home of Theriogenology for two decades, and can be thankful for the dogged determination of Vic Shille.”

Shille retired in 1995 from his duties as UF’s sole clinician specializing in small animal reproduction to devote his time exclusively to the journal.

The Alumni Achievement Award will be given Jan. 14 in a special ceremony at the North American Veterinary Conference during UF’s veterinary college alumni reception. The other two awards will be given April 20 during the college’s upcoming 25th anniversary gala.