(August 19, 2010 Stillwater, OK) – Dr. Roger Panciera, a 1953 graduate of the then Oklahoma A&M College's School of Veterinary Medicine, will be inducted into the 17th Annual Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010. The ceremony will be held at the Jim Thorpe Museum located at 4040 North Lincoln in Oklahoma City.

Dr. Roger Panciera, professor Emeritus at Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.

Panciera, professor Emeritus of OSU's Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, has influenced the careers of many, many veterinary students throughout his illustrious career. He has made countless contributions to improving veterinary medicine in Oklahoma in his 50+ years of service to Oklahoma citizens.

Panciera taught anatomic pathology and infectious diseases at the veterinary center. He is known for teaching students how to think in a problem solving manner to strive for a correct medical diagnosis while instilling in them the desire to learn, the wisdom to seek evidence, and the ability to correctly analyze that evidence.

As a remarkable scientist with numerous scholarly publications, he is an investigative pathologist who has discovered several important diseases that affect animals in Oklahoma and the world. His peers in veterinary pathology have recognized his many accomplishments by naming Panciera a Distinguished Fellow in the American College of Veterinary Pathologists—a distinction only held by 38 of its more than 3,000 members.

"It is an honor to have one of our highly revered faculty members and one of our own OSU Cowboy veterinarians inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame," says Michael Lorenz, DVM, dean of the veterinary center. "Dr. Panciera is an icon in the world of veterinary pathology. He is an inspiration to all who know him and very deserving of this honor."

The Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame recognizes and honors individuals for outstanding achievement on behalf of higher education in Oklahoma. Inductees must have been employed by an Oklahoma institution of higher education for a minimum of ten years or have performed outstanding meritorious service to higher education in Oklahoma. Tickets for the ceremony may be purchased from the Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society at (405) 522-0779.

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 Medical 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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