(March 12, 2009 Stillwater, OK) – Roger J. Panciera, DVM, Ph.D., was one of three honorees inducted into the OSU Alumni Hall of Fame, on Friday, Feb. 27, 2009, at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center on the Stillwater campus. Panciera is a 1953 graduate of the OSU Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.

Originally from Westerly, R.I., Panciera stated that he was ‘glad I made the railroad trip to Stillwater’ to attend veterinary college. Following graduation, he went on to earn M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Veterinary Pathology from Cornell University. He also holds diplomacy in the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

In 1956, he joined the faculty at the then Oklahoma A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and thus his illustrious career in veterinary medicine began. Panciera is known as a “triple threat faculty member” according to his presenter, colleague, and friend of almost 50 years, Dr. Sidney Ewing.

“Land Grant Institutions are charged with responsibility for teaching, research and service,” explains Ewing. “Roger won teaching awards repeatedly, he reported newly discovered diseases in the scientific literature, and he constantly fielded questions from veterinarians (including fellow faculty members like me) as well as the animal-owning public.”

When receiving the 1993 Oklahoma Veterinarian of the Year Award, his classmate, Dr. T. A. Byrd said of Panciera, “Of the many compliments I’ve heard, my favorite is, ‘He taught me to think.’”

Byrd concluded by saying he and Roger had been friends for 40 years and yet they had never discussed, “…politics or religion. I don’t know if he’s a Democrat or Republican, nor do I know if he’s Catholic, Jew, Protestant or Atheist, but I do know this: Like Gunga Din, he’s a better man than I.”

Panciera retired in 2000; however, he continues his veterinary pathology work. He still teaches, he still publishes research findings and he still fields questions from professionals faced with challenging animal disease problems.



Dr. Michael Lorenz, dean of the veterinary center, stated that ‘his greatest legacy is to excite people about what he does.’ Panciera can be credited with influencing many OSU veterinary graduates to follow a career in veterinary pathology, a legacy that will continue for many years to come.

The Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences is one of 28 veterinary colleges in the United States and is fully accredited by the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The center’s Boren Veterinary Medial Teaching Hospital is open to the public and provides routine and specialized care for small and large animals. It also offers 24 hour emergency care and is certified by the American Animal Hospital Association. For more information, visit www.cvhs.okstate.edu or call (405) 744-7000.

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