Hall of Fame Member Biographies

Roger J. Panciera

Every school of higher learning in Oklahoma produces a legend. At Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, that legend is Roger J. Panciera. Raised in Rhode Island, Roger Panciera came to Oklahoma A&M to earn a degree in veterinary medicine graduating in 1953. He then attended Cornell University where he earned his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Pathology. While obtaining these degrees he started a long career with Oklahoma State University, becoming an Assistant Professor in 1956, then a professor in 1963, and has been with that institution ever since. Although officially retiring in 2000, he has continued to teach and publish. He has produced almost 130 articles in the most prestigious of veterinary medicine journals and earned a national—indeed, a world--reputation for his scholarship. In 1992 he was selected the Oklahoma Veterinarian of the Year. Indicative of how renowned Dr. Panciera is nationally was his 2006 election by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists as a Distinguished Member, of whom only 38 have been so named in its 50-year history, and only 15 are currently living. Just as striking as his academic performance has been his accomplishments with students. Roger Panciera has taught veterinary pathology to nearly 95 percent of all graduates from the OSU Veterinary College, and he has trained virtually all Oklahoma veterinarians. He has earned numerous teaching awards, including three times the Norden Distinguished Teaching Award, an unprecedented feat for this most prestigious teaching award in the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine. For his stellar accomplishments in his profession and in the classroom, the Oklahoma Higher Education History Society is proud to announce the induction of Roger J. Panciera into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame.