Awards and Promotions - 2005

B. Ray Thompson, Sr. Outstanding Faculty
Performance Award

(Pictured at Left: Dr. Blackwell, David Edwards, Buddy Mitchell)

Award Description

This award is made possible by earnings from the Thompson Faculty Endowment and is presented annually to faculty in the Institute who have distinguished themselves by their exceptional performance. This award rotates among the four divisions within the Institute of Agriculture.

Citation

The 2005 winner of this award Dr. David Edwards is known as the “Evil Kneivel” of the Vet School.
In case you haven’t seen him traveling about campus – motorcycles are a passion for him. But another passion is his work, and this man’s career has been remarkable. He is a graduate of Texas A & M University, and went on to veterinary school at the University of Georgia. He spent time in private practice, and then a few years later in 1979, he joined us here at UT. The partnership has been a good one for us.

Our honoree has worked as a small animal internist, and more recently as a clinical pathologist.
Currently Dr. Edwards serves as a Professor and Section Chief of Clinical Pathology – and Deputy Chair in the Pathobiology Department. For those of us who might not know quite what that means – he takes the veterinary practice to the microscopic level.

He studies animal diseases, conducts extensive blood tests, and asks the question “What are we dealing with here?” Many times, he finds the answer. But in particular, it’s his teaching that has drawn considerable praise. Dr. Edwards has been the Vet School’s outstanding teacher and educator on several occasions, and was named the Wharton Distinguished Professor for 2003. Perhaps there is no greater measure of what someone accomplishes than what they pass on to others. And for this man, he has trained some of the best veterinarians in the country. They excel in their careers because he is so good at his. He is a dedicated and knowledgeable professional – a valuable resource to the university – and a friendly guy with a terrific sense of humor.