1980s
Mark Logan, V’83, of Cape May Court House, New Jersey,
was selected by the American Veterinary Medical Association
(AVMA) to serve in the 2017-2018 AVMA Fellowship Program,
to provide Congress with scientific counsel on policies related
to animal health, animal welfare, and public health. As one
of three fellows, Logan will serve for one year in Washington
as full-time staff in a congressional office or congressional
committee. During their tenure, the fellows will advise
policymakers on a wide range of issues, such as food safety,
public health, animal welfare, research, and small business
issues.
1990s
Don Neiffer, V’92, was awarded the degree of Master of
Health Sciences in One Health from the Department of
Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health
and Health Professions, University of Florida. Neiffer’s
program culminated in an independent research project
entitled A retrospective study of selected disease seroprevalence
and relationships in free-ranging warthog (Phacochoerus
africanus) populations in South Africa: Implications for disease
transmission at the human/livestock/wildlife interface. This
study, as well as a related warthog anesthesia project, was
completed during a trip to South Africa last spring. Neiffer is
a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine
and a certified veterinary acupuncturist. He is currently
employed as Chief Veterinarian at Smithsonian’s National
Zoo.
Ellen Wiedner, V’99, was named Director of Animal Health at
The Wilds of Ohio.
2000s
Megan Andeer, V’01, purchased the Cat Vet of South Street
with Caroline Perner, V’00. With guidance from Howard
Wellens, V’78, they are remodeling the hospital to make it
the largest feline-only hospital in Philadelphia.
Elizabeth
Knighton, V’00, joined Andeer and Perner last fall.
Heather Fowler, V’10, accepted a position as the Director of
Public Health Research at the National Pork Board in Des
Moines, Iowa. She will guide studies on the health and safety
of people involved in pork production, while focusing on food
safety and diseases that can spread from hogs to humans.
She was also selected to give the student address at the 2017
graduation of the University of Washington School of Public
Health, where she earned her PhD and received the Gilbert S.
Omenn Award for Academic Excellence.
In Remembrance
Lillian Bryant, Head of Veterinary Libraries at the University
of Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2001, passed away August 8 at
her home in Philadelphia. She was a former member of the
Medical Library Association’s Veterinary Medical Libraries
Section and former Secretary of the MLA Philadelphia
Chapter. Lillian graduated from Virginia Union University in
1952 with high honors. She earned a master’s degree in library
science from Pratt Institute in New York and was a member of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Before coming to Penn, Lillian
worked as a medical librarian at Hahnemann Medical College,
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Tri-NEB Library
(nursing collection).
Hugh J. Coleman, V’53, of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, passed
away on August 13 at Masonic Villages, Elizabethtown. Born
in Rushville, Pennsylvania, Dr. Coleman proudly served in the
United States Army during World War II. He was a graduate of
Rush High School and received his bachelor of science degree
from the University of Scranton. Dr. Coleman retired in 1999
after practicing veterinary medicine for 48 years in Lancaster
and Dauphin counties and Paradise, Pennsylvania.
Peter Harry Craig, V’55, of Holland Township, New Jersey,
passed away on November 25. Born in Pittsburgh, he obtained
a bachelor of science degree from the Pennsylvania State
University, followed by a VMD and MS from the University
of Pennsylvania. Peter served in the United States Air Force
from 1958 to 1961 at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
in Montgomery, Alabama, and at Johnsville Naval Air Station
in Warminster, Pennsylvania. He taught pathology at Penn
Vet and also at Cornell University College of Veterinary
Medicine. Peter then pursued a career in the pharmaceutical
and chemical industries, retiring after 15 years with Mobil Oil
Corporation.
Clement Andrew (Clem) Schmitt, V’55, passed away on
December 6. Clem grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia. After
graduating from Penn Vet, he returned to Wheeling where
he practiced veterinary medicine for 55 years—truly a labor
of love. Clem was an avid and competitive golfer. He enjoyed
the outdoors and had a zest for life. He relocated to Wheaton,
Illinois, in 1997.
Daniel Weiner, V’55, passed away August 12. He worked in
the Public Health Service with the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia,
then moved to Seattle, Washington, before going into private
practice in Atlanta. Before entering retirement, Dan received
his pilot’s license, allowing him to fly for pleasure. After
traveling all over the world, he eventually landed and retired
to Sarasota, Florida, where he renewed his veterinary license
and volunteered at Mote Marine Laboratory, The Pelican Man,
as well as emergency animal hospitals as a relief veterinarian.
Robert Lee Pyle, V’65, of Blacksburg, Virginia, passed away
on September 16. He graduated from Oakmont High School
and went on to the Pennsylvania State University, graduating
with a bachelor of science degree in pre-veterinary sciences
from the College of Agricultural Sciences. He graduated from
Penn Vet in 1965. After finishing his VMD degree, he was
employed by Penn Vet until 1974. He then joined Colorado
State University College of Veterinary Medicine as Associate
Professor, specializing in cardiology, and subsequently served
as Associate Professor at Mississippi State University College
of Veterinary Medicine. In 1981, he took a position as Professor
at Virginia Tech (Virginia/Maryland Regional College of
Veterinary Medicine), where he retired in 2007 after holding
leadership positions including Director of the Veterinary
Teaching Hospital and Associate Dean.
Bruce S. Putchat, V’68, of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, passed
away on January 15, 2017, at St. Luke’s Hospital, Quakertown.
Dr. Putchat was the owner and Chief Veterinarian at Pleasant
Valley Animal Hospital, Quakertown, for close to 50 years. He
obtained a bachelor of science degree from the Pennsylvania
State University before graduating from Penn Vet.
Ralph E. Werner, V’68, of Ocean City, New Jersey, passed away
on September 13. A graduate of Upper Darby High School, he
attended Rutgers University and earned his VMD from Penn
Vet in 1968. Ralph proudly served in the Army Airborne’s 101st
Division and was honorably discharged in May 1960. Ralph
worked at the Toms River Veterinary Hospital from 1968 until
1972. He moved with his family to Somers Point, New Jersey,
where he built his veterinary practice. From 1992 through
2002, Ralph was a Diplomate with a Specialty in Companion
Animal Practice.
Joan E. Miller, V’78, passed away on November 5, 2016. Joan
received a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from the
University of Pennsylvania and then attended Penn Vet,
graduating in 1978. After a veterinary internship, veterinary
surgery residency, and a few years of work in the medical
field, she decided to attend the University of Washington
School of Medicine, graduating in 1990. She practiced internal
medicine at Virginia Mason Medical Center, first in Bellevue,
Washington, and then at the downtown Seattle clinic. In
2006, she started working as a medical consultant for the
Washington Disability Determination Service in Seattle and
retired in 2010. Joan was the recipient of numerous academic
and professional awards, most notably being selected as one
of Seattle Magazine’s Best Doctors in 2002.
Stephen Barsanti, V’80, of Stratham and Alton, New
Hampshire, passed away on October 18. Dr. Barsanti
graduated from Boston College in 1972. He worked at General
Electric for a short period before he decided it was time to
pursue his dream of becoming a veterinarian. He graduated
from Penn Vet in 1980 and practiced veterinary medicine in
Massachusetts prior to purchasing Alton Veterinary Clinic in
New Hampshire in 1982. Barsanti owned and operated the
clinic until 2012, when he sold the practice in order to spend
more time with his family.
Douglas Ayers, V’90, passed away on September 12. He
attended Penn Vet with the intention of becoming a
biomedical researcher. He worked as a research assistant
at the University of Texas in a program dedicated to
restoring emotional/behavioral well-being to a large colony
of chimpanzees. During vet school, he worked under an
AIDS research grant as a Fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Following graduation, he declined a post-doctorate position
at Harvard in order to return to Northeast Pennsylvania
and practice veterinary medicine. He co-founded a land
conservancy that preserved more than 12,000 acres of land
regionally for wildlife and green space. Dr. Ayers was the
founder and visionary of The Lands at Hillside Farms, where
he served as the chairman. In 1995, he opened Plains Animal
Hospital in Plains, Pennsylvania. In 2007, he built the present
environmentally green facility which houses Plains Animal
Hospital and Northeast Veterinary Referral Hospital.