Henry M. Vaupel, DVM, has been awarded the 2014 Rooker Award for Excellence in Equine Practice from the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the Michigan Equine Practitioner Association. The award, named for James A. Rooker (DVM '54), was presented at the annual Michigan Veterinary Conference in Lansing, Michigan, January 24, 2014. Dr. Rooker and his wife were in attendance for the event.

The Rooker Award, established in 2012, is awarded to an outstanding Michigan equine practitioner in recognition of contributions to equine veterinary medicine and for his or her mentorship of veterinary students and of veterinarians in the earlier stages of their careers. It is considered one of the highest honors that can be given a Michigan equine practitioner and may not be awarded every year.

Vaupel has been teaching and mentoring since he graduated, when he taught as an instructor at the college. The next year he enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, where he also attended to the horses used for the Olympic Modern Pentathalon Team.

Vaupel grew up in a family that raised Standardbreds and raced them in the Michigan circuit. When he left the Army for clinical practice, his passion for racing drew him to Belmont and Aqueduct racecourses in New York, where he practiced on both Standardbreds and Thoroughbred horses.

In 1972, Vaupel returned to Michigan and founded the Kern Road Veterinary Clinic in Fowlerville. Over the next 3 decades he developed the practice into an 8-veterinarian team housed in an equine hospital. His philosophy places an emphasis on wellness and preventive medicine that limits medical problems and injuries.

Kern Road Veterinary Clinic was one of the first veterinary practices to join with the College in the Practice Based Ambulatory Care Program, which provides veterinary students with hands-on clinical experience under the guidance of practicing veterinarians. More than 100 students have benefited from Vaupel's knowledge and experience during the last 18 years.

Vaupel now serves as administrator to the Kern Road Veterinary Clinic and continues as an adjunct professor in the Practice Based Ambulatory Program. He is active in organized veterinary medicine, including the Michigan Harness Horseman's Association and the Communication Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses (CANTER), which finds new non-race homes for retiring thoroughbred racehorses.

Vaupel also has been active in public service and local and regional politics. He sits on various community boards and project committees. He is currently the Supervisor of Handy Township and is running for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2014.

January 27, 2014