Dr. Jerome Nietfeld, DVM class of 1979
2026 E.R. Frank Award
Dr. Jerome Nietfeld, Manhattan, Kansas, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 E.R. Frank Award by the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine and its Veterinary Medical Alumni Association. This award is presented as part of the Alumni Awards Luncheon during the 88th Annual Conference for Veterinarians held May 31.
The E.R. Frank Award is presented to a faculty member who displays meritorious service to the college as well as the same professional essence of Dr. Frank, who was a longtime faculty member in equine surgery and a K-State alumnus. Nominees must have at least a 15-year relationship with the college, possess a noteworthy record of service and display an unassuming and unpretentious manner throughout their careers. Dr. Nietfeld served on the faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine as a diagnostic pathologist and professor for 24 years.
"We appreciate having an opportunity to present Dr. Nietfeld with the E.R. Frank Award in recognition of his accomplishments in the College of Veterinary Medicine," said Interim Dean Dr. Elizabeth Davis. "As both an alumnus and longtime professor, he provides a great example of the value and versatility of a veterinary degree and how veterinarians can serve as diagnostic scientists, researchers and instructors."
Dr. Nietfeld was born and raised on a small farm near Marysville, Kansas. He attended Wichita State University majoring in engineering, but left after three years to work as a switchman/brakeman with the Missouri Pacific Railroad. After two years, he was accepted into the veterinary program at Kansas State University and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1979.
“I feel this was the best career decision I’ve ever made,” Dr. Nietfeld said. “Veterinary medicine is a wonderful profession populated by wonderful people.”
Dr. Nietfeld spent five years as an associate veterinarian in a mixed animal practice in a small town in Iowa. From 1984 to 1989, he was a pathology resident and graduate student at the University of Georgia at Tifton and Athens, Georgia, where he earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in 1987 and 1989, respectively. He was hired as an assistant professor and diagnostic pathologist at the Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota. In 1991 he became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.
In 1993, Dr. Nietfeld returned to K-State as a diagnostic pathologist in the Kansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and an assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology. He was promoted to associate professor and professor in 1999 and 2008, respectively, retiring in 2017.
In addition to his duties as a diagnostic pathologist, Dr. Nietfeld assisted the laboratory’s other pathologists in teaching necropsy techniques, sample collection, and sample submission to fourth year veterinary medicine students. He was active in instruction of pathology residents and in providing pathology support in collaborative research with members of the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Animal Science and Industries. From 1995 through 2016, Jerome was responsible for presenting the swine and small ruminants portions of the virology course for second year veterinary students. He served for six years each on the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Admissions Committee and for three years on the Curriculum Committee.
Dr. Nietfeld was co-coordinator from 2004 to 2014 for the Kansas Veterinary Quarterly, a newsletter for practicing veterinarians. From 2003 to retirement in 2017, he was a member of the Kansas Voluntary Veterinary Corp and a member of the Kansas Johne’s Work Plan and of the Kansas Johne’s Advisory Committee.
During his professional career, Dr. Nietfeld was a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, South Dakota Veterinary Medical Association, Iowa Veterinary Medical Association, American College of Veterinary Pathologists, American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, American Association of Bovine Practitioners and the Kansas Pork Association.
In 2011, Dr. Nietfeld received the KSU Distinguished Service Award from the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association. In 2013, he was the recipient of the Dr. William and Deanna Pritchard Veterinary Service and Outreach Award from the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine. At the 2016 KSU Swine Day, Dr. Nietfeld was given an award for “Outstanding Service and Commitment to Kansas State University and the swine industry.”
After retiring, Dr. Nietfeld returned to the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to work part time from July 2021 to July 2023 when the laboratory was deficient of pathologists because of a hiring freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic.