AASV Names 2023 Meritorious Service Award Recipient
David Brown was named the 2023 recipient of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ (AASV) Meritorious Service award. The award recognizes individuals who have provided outstanding service to the AASV.
Brown, AASV’s longest-serving employee, is the association’s webmaster and information technology specialist. By chance, the New York native applied for a desktop publishing position at the University of Minnesota. The employer was Bob Morrison seeking help to start a new journal for the American Association of Swine Practitioners (AASP). Over the years, Brown adapted his work for the AASV to focus on the increasing number of services offered online, including the Journal of Swine Health and Production.
As expected of a recipient of the Meritorious Service award, Brown has worked tirelessly for the AASV. He has been instrumental in many facets of the membership interface, including the Journal of Swine Health and Production, weekly electronic newsletter, website, online commerce, the triennial salary survey, Annual Meeting proceedings, Annual Meeting recordings, student podcasts, and general communications. Every AASV member has benefited from Brown’s dedicated service.
Grateful for the association, Brown stated, “It has been a pleasure to grow professionally along with the AASV’s changing needs for more than half my (and its) life.”
Brown earned his BA from St. Olaf College and later an MS from the University of Rhode Island. In addition to his work at AASV, Brown is a part-time faculty member at the University of Rhode Island where he teaches software engineering. He also develops the hardware, electronics, software, documentation, and manufacturing process for the University of Rhode Island Laser Scarecrow, a component of Rebecca Brown’s research program.
AASV Names Outstanding Swine Academic of the Year Award Recipient
Gary Althouse was named the 2023 recipient of the AASV Outstanding Swine Academic of the Year for his demonstration of excellence in teaching, research and service to the swine veterinary profession. Faculty members, graduate students and researchers are eligible to receive this award.
Althouse received his BS from Sul Ross State University, his MS from Texas A&M University, and his DVM and PhD from Iowa State University. He is a board-certified specialist in the American College of Theriogenologists.
Althouse joined the School of Veterinary Medicine faculty at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Vet) in 2001. In 2011, he was named the Marion Dilley and David George Jones Endowed Chair in Animal Reproduction. In 2019, Althouse was appointed Associate Dean of Sustainable Agriculture and Veterinary Practices.
With focused efforts on global food supply and food security, Althouse is the founder and director of Penn Vet’s Reference Andrology Laboratory which provides both critical research and clinical services in large-animal production. He currently provides services to clientele throughout North America with a direct impact on about one-third of the US swine breeding herd. He is currently the attending veterinarian for the largest multi-genetics boar stud system in North America with health and production flow oversight of facilities located in three states. Globally, he provides veterinary consultation services in the remaining Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Collectively, these experiences are woven into his teaching, research, and outreach efforts in the areas of swine production medicine and theriogenology. Peers praise him for being exceptionally influential in advancements in assisted reproductive technologies and boar stud management. His initial work in establishing quality standards for boar semen led to advances in automated evaluation and quality control systems. He has also helped many swine veterinarians work through sow farm reproductive issues.
Althouse has a long history of service to the AASV as a member of the Swine Health Management, Program Planning, Boar Stud and Collegiate Activities Committees. In addition to his service to AASV, he has served on committees for the International Pig Veterinary Society and International Conference on Boar Semen Preservation. He is a past president of both the Society for Theriogenology and the American College of Theriogenologists.
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