R. Scott Pleasant, professor of equine surgery and podiatry in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor 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 in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.

A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 1991, Pleasant made significant contributions to fostering the veterinarian-farrier relationship by improving the education of veterinary students, interns, residents, and farriers on the principles and techniques of equine podiatry. He served the wider community as an equine surgeon, equine field service clinician, equine extension veterinarian, and as a farrier. His scholarship included research projects that helped advance the understanding of equine lameness, inflammation, and pain.

In 2018, Pleasant, was named the C.R. Roberts Professor of Clinical Veterinary Medicine by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. In 2005, he received the Student American Veterinary Medical Association Teaching Excellence Award for Clinical Sciences.

In the classroom, Pleasant taught a wide variety of veterinary and graduate courses ranging across the Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine curriculum. He advised numerous students on master’s degree and Ph.D. dissertations and helped them develop successful careers in both academic and industrial settings.

He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and is a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Pleasant received his bachelor’s degree and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree from the University of Illinois.

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