March 5, 2025
Dr. Pat Halbur, professor and chair of the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic Medicine and the executive director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, has been named the 2025 recipient of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ Outstanding Swine Academic of the Year Award during the association’s 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
The award is given annually to an AASV member employed in academia who has demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, and service to the swine veterinary profession. Faculty members, graduate students, and researchers are eligible to receive this award.
Halbur received his DVM, MS, and PhD from Iowa State University. Before returning to Iowa State for advanced degrees in veterinary pathology, he was co-owner of a mixed animal practice in Williamsburg, Iowa. Halbur spent 15 years as a diagnostic pathologist in the ISU VDL before taking on several administrative roles including director of the VDL, associate dean for public services and outreach, and interim dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
He has published over 225 peer-reviewed manuscripts related to food animal health and holds 14 U.S. patents. Halbur was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2017 and is the recipient of the Iowa State University Award for Achievement in Intellectual Property.
A past president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association, Halbur was named to the “Masters of the US Pork Industry” and is the recipient of several other awards including the AASV Howard Dunne Memorial Award. He served on the AASV Board of Directors 2004-2007 and has contributed to several AASV Annual Meeting Program Planning Committees.
Dozens of peers who nominated Dr. Halbur for this award commend his visionary leadership in strengthening the nation’s diagnostic capacity through the growth, development, and evolution of the ISU VDL. Many also acknowledge his pivotal role in career paths of countless students, mentees, professional staff, faculty, and other colleagues. His legacy is felt by all swine veterinarians who have passed through Iowa State.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this recognition from my peers in the AASV,” Halbur said. “I highly value and greatly appreciate the win-win relationship that exists between academia and swine practitioners. We recognize the challenge AASV members face serving the most progressive livestock producers in the world. It has been a sincere privilege to work alongside many truly remarkable people at ISU to build educational, research, professional practice, outreach and extension programs of value to AASV members and the swine producers they serve. Over the last 35 years, it has been an honor and a pleasure to work with people like Dr. John Thomson, Dr. Kent Schwartz, Dr. Rodger Main and the talented group of faculty and staff in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine. Any success I have enjoyed was made possible by these dedicated people who exemplify a culture of service and innovation.”