Giving Back: Dr. Clay Supports the Roger J. Panciera Education Center
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Billy Clay, DVM, MS, DABVT, recently donated $250,000 to the Roger J. Panciera Education Center. That generous gift will put his name on one of three state-of-the-art classrooms located inside the building now under construction at the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. The building is named after the late Dr. Roger Panciera, professor emeritus, veterinary pathology icon and dear friend of Dr. Clay’s.
“Roger and I were close personal friends and he was one of my mentors along with Drs. Duane Peterson, Jonathan Friend, Eric Williams and Bill Edwards,” said Clay. “This education center is named for Roger but it is a tribute to all the great faculty of his vintage. Roger had a single minded focus of educating young people in the arts and sciences of veterinary medicine. He was very successful.”
“Dr. Clay symbolizes the dedication and commitment of our alumni to give back to their college,” said Dr. Carlos Risco, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “We are very grateful for his support to help us achieve our vision to be innovative world leaders in professional education. His gift leaves an indelible marking in the careers of the next generation of veterinarians who graduate from Oklahoma State University.”
“I am an alumnus and former faculty member who is pleased to give back to the educational program that helped make my successes possible. I have experienced the ‘American Dream’ as did Roger,” said Clay. “Originally from Liberty Mounds, Oklahoma, my origin was poverty with daily learning and application of knowledge and a lot of help along the way! We often compared our different routes with mutual respect. One of the things we agreed on was that we are both examples of the greatness of our country. We both have and are giving back to the society that made it all possible and we acknowledged that in our professional confines, our focus has been on the institution that has nurtured us. Many people deserve credit for our respective successes but some often overlooked contributors are the staff of the College of Veterinary Medicine who have supported our goals. Two of those are Sharon Worrell and Derinda Blakeney and we offer special thanks to them.”
Clay resides in Stillwater working as an environmental toxicology consultant. He earned his DVM degree from Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1970 and is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Toxicology. Panciera earned his DVM degree from OSU CVM in 1953 and spent his entire 44-year career on faculty there. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists, Panciera influenced many veterinarians to pursue a career in pathology.
If you would like to donate to the Roger J. Panciera Education Center, please contact Ashley Hesser, assistant director of development with the OSU Foundation, at 405-385-0715 or ahesser@osugiving.com.
CONTACT: Taylor Bacon | Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator | 405-744-6728 | taylor.bacon@okstate.edu