ALUMNI AWARD FEATURES
TRUE & VALIANT This Homecoming, the college of Veterinary Medicine recognized five individuals with alumni and service awards. These individuals are just a small example of the college’s alumni and friends who have made the world a better place. Read their full stories online at vetmed.iastate.edu/true-valiant-2021
Dr. Norman Cheville (’59)
Dr. Joel Leininger (’72)
Dr. Paul Snyder (‘85)
In his book, Pioneer Science and the Great Plaques: How Microbes, War and Public Health Shaped Animal Health, published by the Purdue University Press, Norman Cheville, dean emeritus of the College of Veterinary Medicine, covers a century of progress fighting infectious diseases and plaques, illuminating the important role of veterinary research and science. “A mystery existed about why America trailed Europe by a full century in building science-based veterinary colleges to educate for animal health care,” Cheville says. “There had to be a story here.”
There was a time in Joel Leininger’s life that when asked what his “claim to fame” was, he wasn’t hesitant with his answer. “I would say I was Johnny Carson’s parents’ paper boy back in Columbus, Nebraska,” he said. “They lived two blocks from our house and my mother was friends with Carson’s mom.“ Leininger’s “claim to fame” has been pushed away to make room for a different accomplishment. When he joined the National Toxicology Program (NTP) in North Carolina, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, he made his mark in toxicologic pathology and in particular the pathology of the rat. Leininger made substantial contributions to the classic textbook Pathology of the Fischer Rat while also serving as associate editor of the 2nd edition titled Pathology of the Rat. “My work on these books was the highlight of my professional life,” he said.
Paul Snyder can trace his professional philosophy back to his college days. “I’ve always thought of my professional career as a journey,” he said. As an ISU vet med student, Snyder had his heart set on becoming a dairy veterinarian and he did just that after graduating. Yet his ambitions kept drifting back to a seed planted by a pair of veterinary pathology faculty. “They told me I really had a natural aptitude for pathology,” Snyder recalled. “They had a passion and enthusiasm for the profession that was infectious. I couldn’t get enough of the subject when I was a student and even as a practicing veterinarian. Today he is a board-certified veterinary pathologist who had a long career at Purdue University and now provides pathologyrelated services to the pharmaceutical and toxicological research community with EPL, Inc.
Stange Award
30 Fall 2021 | Vol. 35 No. 2
Stange Award
Stange Award
