Three past presidents of the American Association of Equine Practitioners will be honored with the group’s 2000 Distinguished Life Member award.  James Coffman, DVM, Gary Lavin, VMD, and Robert Shideler, DVM, will be recognized for their contributions to veterinary medicine and the AAEP at the November 28 President’s Luncheon during the 46th Annual AAEP Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Coffman, provost and professor of clinical sciences at Kansas State University, served as the Dean of the KSU College of Veterinary Medicine until being appointed the university’s chief academic officer in 1987.  He has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific papers, and recently chaired a National Research Council subcommittee on the use of drugs in food-producing animals.  Dr. Coffman was the 1978 president of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the 1986 AAEP president.

Dr. Lavin specializes in the care of Thoroughbred racehorses and practices equine medicine and surgery in Kentucky. His contributions to the AAEP include service as the 1994 president, former chairman of the Racing Committee and AAEP liaison to the American Horse Council’s Racing Committee. He is past president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and is a member of The Jockey Club.

In addition to his term as AAEP president in 1974, Dr. Shideler has served as the president of the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association and was named that state’s Veterinarian of the Year in 1974.  He served as a private practitioner in Illinois and Mississippi for 26 years before joining the faculty of Colorado State University.  Dr. Shideler retired from CSU in 1995