The American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) and the ACVS Foundation announced the recipients of three prestigious awards at the recent 2025 ACVS Surgery Summit in Seattle, WA: the ACVS Founders’ Award for Career Achievement, the Al and Carolyn Schiller Distinguished Service Award, and the ACVS Foundation Legends Award.
ACVS Founders’ Award for Career Achievement
The ACVS membership selected Susan L. Fubini, DVM, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons, to receive the ACVS Founders’ Award for Career Achievement. The award recognizes the service of an ACVS Diplomate distinguished by contributions to the development of surgical techniques and methodology, and disseminating knowledge to colleagues, residents, and students.
Dr. Fubini’s career in veterinary surgery has earned national and international recognition for her methods and pioneering work in large animal soft tissue surgery. Her exceptional contributions to farm animal surgery have had a lasting impact by setting the standard for surgical care in cattle. Dr. Fubini, through the Bovine Research Council, performed clinical research and collaborated with scientists to accomplish pre-clinical nutrition research. In particular, she has taken on topics such as abomasal displacement, perforation, fistulas, intestinal resection and anastomosis/bypass, umbilical vein infection and marsupialization, atresia coli, cecal volvulus, and many more.
Dr. Fubini has mentored 23 interns and 45 residents, with many of her trainees having become some of the most influential equine surgeons and researchers in the profession, speaking volumes to her influence and legacy.
The textbook Farm Animal Surgery, written collaboratively with Dr. Norm Ducharme, is the most renowned reference material for this topic across the globe, serving as not only an indispensable study tool for the ACVS and ECVS certification examinations but a practical guide for trainees and seasoned surgeons alike.
Dr. Fubini’s leadership is defined by her generosity, approachability, and her deep commitment to uplifting others by advancing the holistic well-being of her colleagues. She has tirelessly mentored veterinary students, interns, and residents, guiding and inspiring them to excel in their careers and family lives through her unreserved encouragement of their family and personal growth.
Al and Carolyn Schiller Distinguished Service Award
The ACVS Board of Regents selected John R. Pascoe, BVSc, PhD, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons, as the recipient of the Al and Carolyn Schiller Distinguished Service Award for exceptional contributions to ACVS. Dr. Pascoe dedicated 22 years of service to establishing Veterinary Surgery as a premier veterinary journal.
As the longest serving editor-in-chief of Veterinary Surgery, Dr. Pascoe oversaw numerous changes that contributed to the success of the journal, including decreasing time to publication, switching to electronic manuscript processing, and increasing the number of journal issues per year. These changes resulted in a massive rise in journal submissions. Throughout his service as editor-in-chief, Dr. Pascoe single-handedly copy-edited hundreds of manuscripts.
Dr. Pascoe established strategic partnerships with the European College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Endoscopy Society, shaping Veterinary Surgery as a premier peer-reviewed publication. Under his leadership, Veterinary Surgery thrived, elevating the reputation of ACVS and solidifying ACVS’s role as a leader in veterinary surgical research and education.
Beyond his outstanding leadership of Veterinary Surgery, Dr. Pascoe advanced the practice of veterinary surgery for all veterinary professionals and contributed to the success of others, including training thousands of veterinary medical students and surgery residents, and mentoring authors, young professionals, reviewers, and associate editors. At the University of California, Davis, he developed innovative ways to teach veterinary students the principles of surgery through collaboration with local animal shelters.
Dr. Pascoe was recently honored with the Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award by the University of Queensland and the Billy E. Hooper Distinguished Service Award (AAVMC) for his service in the veterinary profession.
ACVS Foundation Legends Award
The ACVS membership selected Elizabeth M. Santschi, DVM, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons, as the recipient of the ACVS Foundation Legends Award. This award recognizes ACVS Diplomates who have developed a surgical or diagnostic procedure of significant value, proven by becoming the treatment or test of choice for a given condition. The procedure is novel, involves advancements in veterinary surgical science, and has withstood the test of time. Even if modified over time, the procedure remains the method of choice for the condition.
Dr. Santschi is recognized for pioneering development of the transcondylar screw technique for medial femoral condylar subchondral cystic lesions in horses. The transcondylar screw has been adopted worldwide as a surgical procedure for a common cause of equine lameness. Compared to previous techniques, the transcondylar screw showed definitive osseous filling of the cystic defect on radiographs and a reduction in lameness in treated horses.
Dr. Santschi’s mentoring of and outreach to fellow surgeons has allowed the techniques that she developed to be used in novel situations by other teams throughout the world. The transcondylar screw has been used to correct non-femoral subchondral osseous defects. It has been successfully used in the treatment of radial, scapular, and phalangeal cysts.
The use of the screw for the treatment of osseous cystic lesions and the amelioration of lameness that the treatment provides has been studied and reported worldwide. Studies involving modifications to the screw have shown promise, thus ensuring its continued use and benefits to the field of equine surgery.
