Posted: March 12, 2019
He will be honored during the Little I/Dairy Expo Weekend, April 5 and 6 at University Park.
Fred G. Garrison, D.V.M., Clifton, VA, will be honored as the 2019 Animal Science Distinguished Alumnus by Penn State's Department of Animal Science in conjunction with the Little I/Dairy Expo Weekend on April 5 and 6 at University Park.
Dr. Garrison graduated with distinction in 1967 with a B.S. in Animal Husbandry. He graduated in 1971 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with Distinction from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University.
Dr. Terry Etherton, Head of the Department of Animal Science, said, "We are delighted to recognize Fred as our Distinguished Animal Science Alumnus and celebrate his achievements in veterinary medicine. He had provided outstanding leadership in his profession and set a remarkable example of dedication and exemplary animal care."
Garrison said, "I am both humbled and honored to have been nominated by my peers to receive this recognition. I have held the Department of Animal Science in a position of extreme importance to my development, education and training and am thrilled to join an elite group of alumni whom I have known and held in high esteem for years. I am thankful to all those who came before me who set the bar very high to achieve whatever we call success, and I am grateful for my family and friends who will join in this celebration."
After working at the Reisterstown Veterinary Center in Reisterstown, MD, Dr. Garrison established the Centreville Animal Hospital, Centreville, VA, from which he retired in 2011. Its mission statement is to provide exceptional lifetime veterinary care to the community, and stressed preventive medicine, individual pet's stage of life medicine and surgery, acupuncture and other modalities utilized in the care and health maintenance of pets.
He also provided leadership to the Emergency Veterinary Clinic of Northern Virginia, Vienna, VA, where he was a shareholder and a member and secretary of the Board of Directors until it was sold in 2016.
As an undergraduate at Penn State, Garrison showed swine and cattle in four Little Internationals and was editor of the 50th anniversary Little International catalog. He was a proud "barn boy" at the swine center and at the beef barn. He was a member of the 1965 Intercollegiate Meats Judging Team and the acclaimed 1966 Livestock Judging Team which won the National Judging Team championship at the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago.
He is a member of the Gama Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture and Alpha Zeta Fraternity at Penn State. He is a member of the Society of Phi Zeta and Alpha Psi Fraternity, Beta Chapter, Cornell University.
Dr. Garrison is a member of the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association, the Northern Virginia Veterinary Medical Association, and the DC Academy of Veterinary Medicine.
During his career, Dr. Garrison received numerous accolades, including being named Distinguished Veterinary Practitioner, National Academies of Practice, Veterinary Medicine Academy, 2009; Paul F. Landis Virginia Veterinarian of the Year, Virginia Veterinary Medical Association, 2002; and Professional Veterinarian of the Year Award, Virginia Association of Professions, 1997.
Garrison and his wife Kathy, RN and Diaconal Minister, have been married for nearly 50 years and they have two children and six grandchildren.
