MSU veterinary hall of fame inducts Taylor

Taylor

Dr. Clyde Taylor, a native of Natchez and charter faculty member of Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was recently named to the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association’s Hall of Fame. He spent his entire career in Mississippi, working first in the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, then in private practice in Brandon and finally on the faculty at MSU.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from MSU, Taylor received his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Auburn University in 1960. He then received a master’s of public health from Tulane University and became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine.

In 1976, Taylor left his private practice to become the second faculty member hired for the then new veterinary school at MSU. Taylor was part of the original 17 founding faculty members when MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine started in the late 1970s.

Before Taylor’s retirement in 1996, he taught CVM classes, traveled the state as the Extension veterinarian, served as coordinator of special programs for the veterinary college and was assistant to the dean. He is also a member of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Hall of Fame and an honor roll member of the MVMA and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Taylor is a past recipient of the National Extension Veterinarian of the Year, the Mississippi Veterinarian of the Year, the Wilford S. Bailey Distinguished Alumni Award from Auburn and the Dean’s Pegasus Award at MSU. He has served MVMA as president and as an executive board member.