Jennifer Hodgson honored with emerita status
Jennifer Hodgson, professor of microbiology and veterinary educational innovation in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emerita by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emerita title may be conferred on retired faculty members 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 community for more than 16 years, Hodgson was a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology and later in the Department of Population Health Sciences. She prepared future veterinarians to serve animals and clients across Virginia and beyond by teaching core courses in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum; leading “Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology” and co-leading “Moving and Sensing, Sensing and Seeing”; and providing an average of 30 lectures and 31 laboratory sessions each year, and from 2016, adding an average of 23 integrative sessions each year.
From 2008 through 2022, Hodgson served as the associate dean for professional programs in the veterinary college. She orchestrated a major revision to the veterinary medicine professional curriculum implemented in 2016 and wrote major sections of the successful 2014 and 2021 reaccreditations for the college.
In 2017, Hodgson created and served as editor for the preeminent text on veterinary education, “Veterinary Medical Education: A Practical Guide” and for the second edition in 2023.
In her career, Hodgson authored or co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, 60 peer-reviewed presentations for national and international conferences, 150 other presentations, two keynote addresses, 18 book chapters, 30 scientific presentations, and five extension publications and on-line resources. She was principal or co-principal investigator on eight research grants totaling close to $600,000 while at Virginia Tech.
She received many professional honors and awards, including selection into the Honorary Societies of Phi Zeta, Phi Kappa Phi, and Omicron Delta Kappa; the 2014 Virginia Tech Excellence in Access and Inclusion Award; the Zoetis Distinguished Teaching Award; the 2018 National American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Distinguished Veterinary Teaching Award, the 2020 AAVMC Presidential Award for Meritorious Service; and the 2021 National Student American Veterinary Medical Association Award for Support of Student Wellbeing.
Hodgson served the public and profession by chairing the Academic Affairs Committee of the AAVMC and co-chairing the AAVMC Working Group on Competency-Based Veterinary Education, the AAVMC Council for Outcomes-based Veterinary Education, the AAVMC Advocate Working Group for Competency-Based Veterinary Education, and the Veterinary School Accreditation of Australasia Committee for the Australian Veterinary Board Council, and also served as a member of the AAVMC’s Veterinary Medical Educational Initiative.
Hodgson received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Sydney in Australia and her Ph.D. from Washington State University. She is a Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Microbiology and a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
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