Gerhardt G. Schurig honored with emeritus status
Gerhardt Schurig, professor of immunology and former dean of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor and dean emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emeritus title may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive an emeritus certificate from the university.
Appointed as the college’s third dean, serving from 2004 to 2013, Schurig first joined the veterinary college faculty in 1978. A professor and veterinary immunologist, he is considered one of the world’s leading brucellosis researchers and is internationally renowned for his work in developing vaccines against bovine brucellosis, a zoonotic disease that causes reproductive problems in cattle and undulant fever in humans.
Before he served as dean, Schurig was the college's associate dean for research and graduate studies, the director of Virginia Tech's Institute for Biomedical and Public Health Sciences, and a senior researcher and former director of the Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases. During his seven-year tenure as head of that center, it became a major research and development center focused on creating vaccines and improved diagnostic tests for several economically significant animal diseases.
Schurig was a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Veterinary Immunologists, and the American Society for Microbiology. He served as the president of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges from 2011 to 2012 and was inducted into the prestigious Spanish Real Academia de Ciencias Veterinarias in 2008.
Schurig received his D.V.M. degree in 1970 from the University of Chile. He also received a master's degree and Ph.D. from Cornell University.
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