Zoetis Distinguished Teacher Award

Dr. Barbara Byrne was recognized with the Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award for sustained excellence in teaching microbiology in the classroom and clinic, and exceptional dedication to the student experience in veterinary medical education.

A Professor of Clinical Microbiology in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Byrne received her DVM (1987) at Colorado State University and PhD (1998) from Washington State University.  She completed a residency at The Ohio State University, and is board certified in both LA Internal Medicine and Veterinary Microbiology. Byrne joined our faculty in 2003 and is a Fellow of the West Region Consortium of Colleges of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Academy since (2015).

Serving as a Block Leader for the Infectious Disease and Immunology Course in the second year, Byrne’s contributions are appreciated by students and faculty colleagues alike. Her instructor evaluations by students are uniformly excellent, filled with superlatives and consistently reference her care for both their learning and their well-being.  One student commented, “Thank you so much for always caring about our well-being! It feels like you genuinely care and it is extremely motivating.”

Another student noted, “She was not only an amazing lecturer but also was extremely helpful in raising the students' morale and understood that after all the information that was given, how difficult it was for students to keep up with material. She has a knack for explaining concepts easily, always emphasizes the important take-home points, and is an extremely enthusiastic lecturer. Even though I do not enjoy material for large animal, I would always look forward to her lectures as they were informative and well put.”

Faculty who teach with Byrne attest to her active engagement in the development of teaching methods, time spent assisting colleagues with instructional materials, feedback on student evaluations and the continuous improvement of our curriculum.  Many colleagues comment that she sits in on their lectures to ensure that her integration of material in that class or block is seamless and consistent. This level of selfless devotion to the curriculum and to her faculty colleagues, is deeply appreciated.