UF Veterinary College names 2009 Distinguished Award Winners

Two small animal veterinary practice owners from Gainesville and Miami, the chief veterinarian at the Georgia Aquarium and two University of Florida professors emeritus have been honored for their career accomplishments by the UF College of Veterinary Medicine.

Four awards were given through the 2009 Distinguished Award program, which is sponsored by the college's alumni council and offers recognition to deserving alumni, faculty and others who have contributed meaningfully to UF and/or to the veterinary profession.

Dale Kaplan-Stein, D.V.M., and Julio Ibanez, D.V.M., tied this year as recipients of the college's Alumni Achievement Award.

Kaplan-Stein, a member of the college's class of 1981, owns Oaks Veterinary Hospital and Northwood Oaks Veterinary Hospital, both in Gainesville. She also helped establish Affiliated Pet Emergency Services in Gainesville in 1988. For more than 20 years, Kaplan-Stein has been a tireless volunteer for Gainesville Pet Rescue, Alachua County Animal Services and No More Homeless Pets, among other groups. In 2007, she founded the St. Francis House Pet Care Clinic, through which she has helped provide care to nearly 500 pets of homeless and disadvantaged people living in the Alachua County area.

Ibanez, a member of the college's charter class of 1980, is the owner of Quail Roost Animal Hospital in Miami. He is a former president of the college's alumni council and has been actively involved in the Florida Veterinary Medical Association. He also has served on the executive boards of the South Florida Veterinary Medical Association and the South Florida Veterinary Foundation. He received the FVMA's Gold Star Award in 2003 for outstanding contributions to veterinary medicine.

The Outstanding Young Alumnus Award was given to Tonya Clauss, D.V.M., a 2003 graduate of the UF veterinary college. She now is chief veterinarian at the Georgia Aquarium, where she works with one of the world's largest collections of aquatic animals. Frequently featured in the national news whenever the Aquarium treats high-profile cases, Clauss is an active spokeswoman for the importance of aquatic animal health. In addition to her veterinary degree, she holds two bachelor's degrees, as well as a master's degree in environmental engineering and wetlands ecology from UF.

Louis Archbald, D.V.M., Ph.D., a professor emeritus of animal reproduction, has received the Distinguished Service Award. Archbald joined UF's faculty as a professor and assistant dean for clinical services/chief of staff of UF's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in 1984. Until he retired in 2008, Archbald directed minority-oriented initiatives, later known as multicultural and special programs, at the college. He received the 2001 Iverson Bell Award from the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges for his outstanding contributions in promoting opportunities for minority students in veterinary medical education. Even after retirement, Archbald has continued to advise and mentor minority students in the D.V.M. and graduate programs.

The college's Special Service Award went to Jerome Modell, M.D., a professor emeritus of anesthesiology at UF's College of Medicine who also holds a courtesy appointment in the College of Veterinary Medicine. For more than 20 years, Modell, always eager to draw parallels between animal and human patients, routinely invited UF veterinary faculty to lecture in his classes. In the 1980s, he helped create a human patient simulator to teach medical students. This tool was soon adapted to teach anesthesia to UF veterinary students.

The awards were presented May 23 at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts during college commencement exercises.