Nathaniel White receives Distinguished Life Member Award from equine association
BLACKSBURG — The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) presented Virginia Tech's Nathaniel A. White II, professor emeritus of equine surgery at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine’s Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center, with the Distinguished Life Member Award for his leadership and substantial volunteerism within the association during his 43 years of membership.
The Distinguished Life Member Award honors an AAEP member who has made outstanding contributions to the association throughout their career. White, who served as AAEP president in 2010, was honored this month at the AAEP’s convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After receiving a doctor of veterinary medicine degree at Cornell University, White completed an internship and residency in surgery at the University of California-Davis. He also earned a master’s degree in pathology at Kansas State University. He is a Diplomate and former president of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. During his tenure at the Equine Medical Center, he was the Theodora Ayer Randolph professor in surgery from 1987 to 2004 and the Jean Ellen Shehan Chair as the Equine Medical Center director from 2003 to 2012.
White, a world-renowned expert on colic, has also authored several books on the topic including Equine Acute Abdomen and Handbook of Equine Colic as well as the surgical texts Current Techniques in Equine Surgery and Lameness and Current Practice of Equine Surgery.
Currently, White is chair of the AAEP’s National Equine Health Plan Task Force, which is establishing an Equine Disease Communication Center to serve as a national hub for equine disease reporting and communication. Additionally, since 2010, he has served on the management board and as co-U.S. editor of Equine Veterinary Education.
White was instrumental in the establishment and served as longtime chair of the AAEP Foundation, the charitable arm of the AAEP that has distributed more than $3.3 million since 1994 to improve the welfare of the horse. He served two terms on the AAEP board of directors, volunteered with the AAEP On Call program from 1994-2000, delivered the 2006 Frank J. Milne State-of-the-Art Lecture on the subject of colic and received the AAEP’s Distinguished Service Award in 2004.
Since joining the AAEP in 1973, White has also volunteered his time and expertise through service on numerous committees and councils, including Abstract Review, Convention Planning, Educational Programs, Finance, Nominating, President’s Advisory, Public Policy, Research, Student Relations, and Trail and Events.
The American Association of Equine Practitioners, headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse. Currently, AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 9,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry.
