JOHN E. ALEXANDER, D.V.M. WASHINGTON’S VETERINARIAN OF THE YEAR

Professor John E. “Jack” Alexander, a veterinary radiologist in Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was awarded 1999 Veterinarian of the Year hon- ors at the recent convention of the Washington State Vet- erinary Medical Association.

The award was made in appreciation for Dr. Alexander’s more than 37 years of teaching, research, and service.

Dr. Alexander’s immediate family and many of their spouses and some grandchildren were in attendance for the proud moment. Dr. Alexander has been on the WSU faculty since 1962 and was one of the first five people in the world to ever sit for the first veterinary radiology board examina- tions. He was the first veterinary radiologist in the western region of the U.S. and single-handedly developed radiology short courses for practitioners.

“We had no money then,” he said of his early efforts at continuing education. “We’d invite all the attendees over to our little apartment in Pullman, Washington for Kentucky Fried Chicken and a big salad my wife made and I talked General Electric into buying the booze.”

Dr. Alexander is also a past president of the WSVMA and past chair of what is now the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at WSU. Currently, he remains on the faculty with retirement planned for the summer of 2000.

“I still enjoy consultations on radiographs as much as anything else,” he told the audience. “To be able to look at those films and discuss the cases and findings is as much a thrill to me as it ever has been.”

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