The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Honors Three of Its Accomplished Graduates with the 2026 Alumni Achievement Awards
Three distinguished graduates of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) have received two of the School’s highest honors, the Alumni Award of Merit and the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. The awards are presented annually to recognize alumni who embody Penn Vet’s mission and values. This year’s recipients were presented with their awards last Friday, May 15, at New Bolton Center as part of the School’s annual Alumni and Reunion Weekend celebration.
The 2026 award recipients are Patricia A. Brown, V’78, John J. McCauley, C’88, V’92, and David E. Kenny, V’84, who was given his honor posthumously. He died Dec. 11, 2025. His family accepted his award.
Dr. Brown delivered remarks at Monday’s commencement ceremony. Dr. McCauley will deliver remarks at V’28’s White Coat Ceremony in the fall.
“Throughout their careers, Drs. Brown, Kenny, and McCauley have contributed substantially to public service, wildlife medicine, and clinical practice, highlighting the diversity of our profession,” said the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine, Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM. “They represent the very best of our alumni, and they inspire future veterinarians to advance the health and well-being of animals in service to their communities. We are very grateful for their dedication to Penn Vet, and to the profession.”
2026 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award: Patricia A. Brown and David E. Kenny
The Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award honors alumni who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to the veterinary profession.
Dr. Brown received her BS in Animal Science from Pennsylvania State University in 1974 and graduated from Penn Vet in 1978. Upon graduation, she served in the U.S. Air Force for eight years. While on active duty, she earned a Master of Science degree from the M.S. Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Brown transferred to the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service in 1986 and served on active duty in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intramural research program, including the Veterinary Resources Branch, the National Cancer Institute, and the Office of Animal Care and Use. In 2006, she was appointed as the director of the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) to oversee the use of animals in all NIH-funded research, both domestic and foreign. She completed 31 years of active-duty service as a captain in 2011. She was retained by NIH as the OLAW director and an NIH senior scientist until retiring in 2023.
“She is an outstanding leader who has provided exceptional service and significant contributions to biomedical research through a demonstrated, strong, and abiding commitment to advancing science through promotion of the highest standards of laboratory animal care in research,” according to the nominating materials for her alumni award.
Dr. Brown also served as the NIH representative on House Advisory Panel to the American Veterinary Medical Association House of Delegates. She is a diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM), has served on the Board of Directors of ACLAM, and is a past president of the American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners.
The late Dr. David Kenny, born in Staten Island, attended Manhattan College in the Bronx where he earned a BS in economics. But his dream had always been to become a veterinarian. So, after undergraduate school, while working in the procurement department of Prudential in Newark, he took science classes at night at Seton Hall. In 1980, he was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. After he graduated in 1984, he began his career at a mixed animal practice in Bolton, Ct. After two years, he won an internship at the Denver Zoo and then became an interim park vet for the Diane Fossey gorilla project in Rwanda. Upon his return, Dr. Kenny began a two-year residency at the Bronx Zoo. In 1990, the Denver Zoo asked him to join the zoo as a staff veterinarian. In his 25 years there, he cared for all kinds of creatures including two polar bear cubs he helped hand-raise for three months, a baby rhino that followed him around the hospital, a baby gorilla he carried during rounds, and many others – some that he took home with him if they needed extra care.
After Dr. Kenny left the zoo, he continued to work as a conservation vet, traveling to Mongolia, Africia, Mexico, Nepal, Costa Rica, Argentina, and other countries, where he also honed his second passion, photography. When the Covid 19 pandemic prevented travel, he started painting and drawing, finishing over 100 watercolors of birds and animals in two years. He planted a milkweed garden to help monarch butterflies during their migration, and he volunteered on his native Staten Island to aid in controlling an exploding deer population. He and his wife, Meg, traveled extensively to experience wildlife all over the globe.
In the statements nominating Dr. Kenny for an alumni award, he was described as “truly gentle, kind, and compassionate,” as well as “one of the leaders in the world in zoo medicine.”
“Dave was an inspiration,” said the nominating material. “His accomplishments at the Denver Zoo and around the world to help wildlife were amazing. We lost an animal ambassador when we lost Dave.”
A celebration of his life will be held next spring.
2026 Alumni Award of Merit: Dr. John J. McCauley
The Alumni Award of Merit recognizes alumni who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to Penn Vet, excellence in the veterinary profession, and community engagement.
Dr. McCauley graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 with a BS in biology and from Penn Vet in 1992. He spent his first two years after graduation working for a small animal practice in Mantua, N.J. He took a position at The Cat Doctor in Philadelphia in 1994 and decided to concentrate exclusively on feline medicine. He opened The Cat Clinic in 1997 in Cherry Hill, Camden County’s first feline specialty hospital. The following year, Dr. McCauley sat for the board examination and was certified as a diplomate by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in the Feline Practice category. This is a certification few veterinarians achieve and requires recertification every 10 years. Over the next 27 years, Dr. McCauley strove to bring the highest quality veterinary care to South Jersey’s felines.
A nominating letter from an owner who brought her cats to the practice for years described Dr. McCauley as someone who is always kind, available and uncommonly dedicated to his patients, their people, his colleagues, and future veterinarians.
The nominator said she believed “very strongly” that Alumni Award consideration should include “those who, day-in-and-day-out, month-after-month, year-by-year, and decade-by-decade make the sacrifices to give their absolute best to every precious patient and their families who are privileged to be treated by him and given the highest standard of care, the kind of care that McCauley embodies.”
In spring 2025, Dr. McCauley handed over the reins of The Cat Clinic to New Jersey’s only other board-certified feline specialist, Dr. Amanda Kennedy. Dr. McCauley continues to play an active role at The Cat Clinic and hopes to continue to do so for many years to come.
Over the years, Dr. McCauley remained actively engaged in the Penn Vet community. He has been a faithful supporter of the Veterinary Student Scholarship Fund ever since his own graduation. He served as a class agent volunteer for V’93, and he has offered opportunities for students to learn in his clinic.
Author: Rita Giordano
Source: https://www.vet.upenn.edu/
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