Christine Jenkins to receive AVMA’s 2026 Patterson award
Bottom line
Dr. Christine Jenkins, DVM, former chief medical officer and vice president for veterinary medical services and outcomes research at Zoetis, has been named the 2026 recipient of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Frederick Douglass Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor recognizes her work advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across veterinary medicine, including mentoring underrepresented students and veterinarians, helping create pathways into the profession, and co-chairing the AVMA/AAVMC Commission for a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Veterinary Profession. Jenkins, a Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine graduate, was nominated by Purdue dean emeritus Dr. Willie Reed, and AVMA said she will receive the award during the House of Delegates meeting on July 10 in Anaheim, California, ahead of AVMA Convention 2026. (myvetcandy.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the award is a reminder that workforce development and inclusion remain strategic issues, not side conversations. Jenkins’ career has tied industry leadership to mentorship, student outreach, wellness, and institutional partnerships with colleges of veterinary medicine, all areas that affect recruitment, retention, and the profession’s ability to reflect the communities it serves. AVMA created the Patterson award to recognize transformative leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusion, underscoring how central those efforts have become to organized veterinary medicine. (myvetcandy.com)
What to watch: Watch for AVMA Convention recognition, any formal remarks from Jenkins or AVMA leaders, and whether the honor sparks renewed attention to veterinary pipeline and belonging initiatives in 2026. (myvetcandy.com)
Dr. Christine Jenkins has been selected to receive the AVMA’s 2026 Frederick Douglass Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, a recognition that puts a national spotlight on one of veterinary medicine’s long-running leaders in mentorship, inclusion, and workforce development. Jenkins, formerly Zoetis’ chief medical officer and vice president for veterinary medical services and outcomes research, is being honored for a career centered on expanding opportunity for underrepresented students and veterinarians. (myvetcandy.com)
The award itself is relatively new in the AVMA honors landscape and is specifically focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. AVMA has described it as recognizing significant contributions through innovative and transformative leadership in promoting DEI within the profession. It is named for Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson, the educator and veterinarian who earned his DVM from Iowa State in 1923, later led Tuskegee Institute, and founded both the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine and the United Negro College Fund in 1944. (myvetcandy.com)
That history matters in Jenkins’ case. According to coverage of the announcement, she said Patterson’s work at Tuskegee created opportunities for African American and Hispanic students to pursue veterinary medicine, and that his legacy continues to shape the profession. Jenkins is herself a Tuskegee veterinary graduate, after studying biology at the University of Chicago and earning a BS in animal science from Florida A&M University. (myvetcandy.com)
Across her career, Jenkins has worked at the intersection of industry, education, and professional leadership. AVMA-related coverage said that, as a member of Zoetis’ U.S. leadership team, she was responsible for strategic partnerships with colleges of veterinary medicine and professional associations. Earlier Zoetis materials show that she also used prominent platforms to speak directly to students about career flexibility, financial literacy, wellbeing, and professional connection, and that she received Tuskegee’s Presidential Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017. (myvetcandy.com)
The announcement also points to some of Jenkins’ most visible profession-level work: co-chairing, alongside Dr. Ruby Perry, the AVMA/AAVMC Commission for a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Veterinary Profession. Additional Zoetis materials note that Jenkins was selected as a CEO Action for Racial Equity fellow, reflecting that her DEI work extended beyond veterinary medicine into broader corporate and public policy efforts. Taken together, that record helps explain why nominators and AVMA leaders framed her impact as both institutional and personal. (myvetcandy.com)
In comments published with the announcement, AVMA President Dr. Michael Q. Bailey said Jenkins has dedicated her career to mentoring and creating opportunities for underrepresented students and veterinarians. Dr. Willie Reed, who nominated her and is himself a past Patterson award recipient, said Jenkins has helped inspire young people of color to pursue veterinary medicine by sharing her own journey and the meaning she finds in the profession. Those remarks position the award not just as recognition of senior leadership, but of sustained pipeline-building. (myvetcandy.com)
Why it matters: Veterinary workforce discussions often focus on shortages, debt load, burnout, and retention. Jenkins’ recognition highlights another dimension: who sees a place for themselves in the profession, who gets mentored once they arrive, and whether institutions are building cultures where people stay. For practices, educators, and industry leaders, that has practical implications for hiring, team culture, student outreach, and trust with increasingly diverse pet parent communities. AVMA and AAVMC have both continued to frame inclusion and belonging as part of the profession’s long-term future, which suggests this award is as much a signal about strategy as it is about one individual’s legacy. (myvetcandy.com)
What to watch: Jenkins was slated to receive the award during the AVMA House of Delegates meeting on July 10, 2026, just before AVMA Convention in Anaheim. The next thing to watch is whether AVMA, AAVMC, or industry partners use the moment to elevate new workforce, mentorship, or DEI initiatives, especially as the profession continues to compete for talent and address belonging across training and practice settings. That forward-looking connection is an inference based on the award’s purpose and the organizations’ stated priorities. (myvetcandy.com)