(October 15, 2010   Stillwater, OK) – Dr. Roger Panciera, a 1953 graduate of the then Oklahoma A&M College’s School of Veterinary Medicine, was one of 11 educators inducted into the 17th Annual Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010. The ceremony was held at the Jim Thorpe Museum located at 4040 North Lincoln in Oklahoma City.

Panciera, professor Emeritus of OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, has influenced the careers of many, many veterinary students throughout his tenure.  He has made countless contributions to improving veterinary medicine in Oklahoma in his 50+ years of service to Oklahoma citizens and was described as a legend at OSU’s veterinary college during his introduction.

He taught anatomic pathology and infectious diseases at the veterinary center and he taught students how to think in a problem solving manner.  A remarkable scientist with numerous scholarly publications, this investigative pathologist has discovered several important diseases that affect animals in Oklahoma and around the world.

In 1992, he was selected as the Oklahoma Veterinarian of the Year.  His peers in veterinary pathology recognized his many accomplishments by naming Panciera a Distinguished Fellow in the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (2006)—a distinction only held by 38 of its more than 3,000 members.

In his acceptance remarks, Panciera acknowledged those who had nominated him, his family, his colleagues and Mother Nature.

“I thank Mother Nature for providing an abundance of deceased animals from which to study and learn,” said Panciera.  “I also thank her for providing a host of diseases to research.  I enjoy what I do and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with so many talented colleagues and students at OSU.”

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.

Left to right: Earl Mitchell, president, Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society; Dr. Roger Panicera, 2010 Inductee; and Dr. Michael Lorenz, dean, OSU Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.

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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