CVM Community Honors Its Own at 35th Annual Awards Banquet

The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine marked the end of another academic year by gathering at the Talley Student Union on May 2 to recognize outstanding achievements from students, staff and faculty.

After welcoming remarks by Dean Paul Lunn, longtime emcee Greg Lewbart, professor of aquatic animal medicine, set a “Game of Thrones” theme for this year’s event as award presenters were identified as various characters in the hit HBO series when they came to the stage as the show’s theme song played.

A lengthy list of academic awards was announced; a complete list is below. The evening concluded with the presentation of the three highest awards given to faculty members.

The Zoetis Award for Research Excellence went to Nanette Nascone-Yoder, associate professor of developmental biology, whose lab focuses on the cellular mechanisms behind certain forms of birth defects.

The Zoetis Distinguished Teaching Award was presented to Michael Davidson, professor of ophthalmology, who was selected by students. He was cited for his sense of humor and his ability to make a difficult subject clear.

The final major award came as a surprise to emcee Lewbart when it was announced that he had won the Huffman Leadership Award established to recognize leadership, vision, and achievement. He was chosen for his energetic and creative teaching, his engagement with students, and his leadership of the popular Turtle Rescue Team.  

With this presentation, the normally loquacious master of ceremonies was rendered momentarily speechless.

The complete list of awards and recipients and recipients can be found here.

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