The award honors an individual who has dedicated his or her career to educating, mentoring and advancing the careers of students in the field of bovine veterinary medicine. BonDurant was honored with a commemorative plaque and will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to next year’s AABP conference.

“Dr. BonDurant’s scientific contributions to veterinary medicine and his ongoing work as a student mentor are remarkable and deserving of recognition,” said Norman Stewart, D.V.M., Merck’s livestock technical services manager. “We commend his dedication and ability to inspire students across the globe, as well as the honor, integrity and respect he demonstrates to his students every day.”

BonDurant is a professor emeritus of food animal reproduction at the University of California — Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where he was chairman of the Department of Population Health and Reproduction from 1993 to 2008.

For more than 30 years, he has played a key role in mentoring countless undergraduate and veterinary students in both veterinary and animal sciences. He received a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from UC-Davis. In 2004, he received the UC-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Achievement Award.

BonDurant is the seventh recipient of the Mentor of the Year Award, which was instituted in 2007. 

—From Merck Animal Health news release