Jerry Fineg

2009 Outstanding Alumni
Dr. Jerry Fineg, '53

With a career spanning more than 50 years, Dr. Jerry Fineg has distinguished himself as a world-class veterinarian and Aggie. Throughout his illustrious career, he has served as a clinician and researcher with the United States Air Force, NASA, and as an educator at the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Fineg received his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University in 1949 and graduated with his DVM degree in 1953. In 1964, he completed a M.S. degree in comparative physiology from the University of Southern California. He began his twenty year service to his country with the USAF as a base veterinarian in Tripoli, Libya. His last military posting was as the Chief of the Veterinary Sciences Division, School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks AFB, Texas. During his time with the USAF, he was a pioneer in the space program through his care of the chimpanzees that were used to assist NASA in their effort to verify the ability for humans to survive and function in space.

After leaving the Air Force in 1973, Dr. Fineg steered his career into veterinary medical education as a professor of physiology and pharmacology at the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas. He was the director of the Animal Resources Center and continued in that capacity until retirement in 2006. Beginning in 1988, he has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Veterinary Public Health at Texas A&M University. A noted authority in the field of laboratory animal medicine, Dr. Fineg has authored or co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications.

In addition to his work as a clinician, educator, and researcher, Dr. Fineg has been an active member and officer of several local, state, national, and international organizations serving the veterinary profession throughout his career. He has served with distinction in the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, the Bexar County VMA, the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, and the American Society for Laboratory Animal Practitioners.

In 1966, The USAF honored him with a USAF Commendation, in 1969 with a Joint Services Commendation, and in 1969 and 1979 with Legion of Merit awards. At The University of Texas, he was awarded the James T. Doluisio Centennial Fellowship from 1986 to 1989, and he has held the James T. Doluisio Regents Professorship in Pharmacy since 1986. Dr. Fineg was awarded the Texas Excellence Teaching Award from the UT College of Pharmacy in 1996, and in 2001 was recognized by the TVMA with the prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award.  The National American Association of Laboratory Animal Science honored him with their Charles A. Griffin Award in 2005, and in 2007 the Texas Society for Biomedical Research presented him with the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his positive influence on biomedical research, education and the humane use of animals in biomedical research.

Dr. Fineg met a young USAF nurse while serving in North Africa and married her shortly thereafter. He and his wife Joan have been married for 54 years and enjoy spending time with their four children and three granddaughters. With a handicap of 24, he enjoys an occasional round of golf, although finding time to play is always a challenge.