Dr. Jan Shearer

Dr. Shearer received his DVM degree from The Ohio State University in 1975.  He served as an Associate Veterinarian at the Orrville Veterinary Clinic Inc. in north central Ohio for 4 ½ years before returning to The Ohio State University to pursue graduate studies in nutrition.  He was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University in 1981.  In 1982 he relocated to the University of Florida where he became Professor and Dairy Extension Veterinarian at the College of Veterinary Medicine.  Dr. Shearer served the University of Florida for 27 years before accepting his current position as Professor and Extension Veterinarian at Iowa State University.  His primary research and extension interests are lameness of dairy cattle, bovine behavior and animal welfare. He currently serves as Chair of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Animal Welfare Committee (AWC), member of the Board of Directors of the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO), and was recently appointed to the North American Food Animal Well-Being Commission – Beef.  He also serves on the planning committee for the American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW), a proposed Specialty Board in Animal Welfare.  He is Coordinator of the AABP Bovine Lameness Seminar and Program Coordinator of the Food Animal Program of the North American Veterinary Conference.  He is a past recipient of the Florida Distinguished Extension Service Award, the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Superior Accomplishment Award, and the 2003 USDA Secretary of Agriculture’s Honor Award for outstanding innovation in animal health.  He has also been honored by The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and by the AABP with the Alpharma Award of Excellence.  Most recently became the Chair of the AVMA Food Animal Working Group Panel on Euthanasia.