Dr. Jim and John Schumacher - DVM 1973
American Association of Equine Practitioners 2025
Dr. John Schumacher, Auburn, Alabama, and Dr. James Schumacher, Las Cruces, New Mexico are the recipients of the 2025 Alumni Recognition Award to be presented during an alumni reception being held in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 8 in conjunction with the annual American Association of Equine Practitioners Conference. This award is given to veterinarians in grateful recognition for time and effort devoted to advancing veterinary medicine and for being an exemplary role model for future alumni in a professional and community setting.
The Schumacher brothers grew up in Washington, Kansas, and attended Kansas State University for veterinary college. After earning their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees in 1973, they took separate careers paths.
“We are pleased to have this opportunity to recognize a pair of brothers who were part of the same alumni class in our college,” said Dr. Elizabeth Davis, interim dean. “They both have shared a passion for equine medicine and surgery and have both had impactful careers as veterinarians, educators and leaders in the profession.”
Dr. John Schumacher is currently professor emeritus in the Department of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.
“An aunt told me that if I want to succeed at any career, needed to work with people smarter than me,” Dr. John Schumacher said. “I took her advice, this award verifies the wisdom of her advice.”
Starting in 1973, Dr. John Schumacher worked in veterinary practices in Kansas and California until 1978. He then was a medicine resident in the Department of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Texas A & M University, College of Veterinary Medicine from 1978 to 1980. After finishing his residency and receiving his master’s degree, Dr. John Schumacher was a resident veterinarian at a broodmare farm in Gardendale, Texas from 1980 to 1982. In 1982, he joined Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Large Animal Surgery and Medicine and attained the rank of full professor in 1996. During his time at Auburn University, he served as the equine section leader and as veterinarian on a research and production program for the Department of Homeland Security.
Dr. John Schumacher is a member of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He received the Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher Award in 1995 and 1998 and the American College Veterinary Surgeons Merit Award in 2020.
Dr. John Schumacher and his wife, Elizabeth, have been married for 49 years and have two children: Michael and Erin.
“Personal inadequacies can be overcome by surrounding oneself with intelligent, educated, enthusiastic people,” Dr. Jim Schumacher said.
Dr. Jim Schumacher has served in several non-academic and academic positions. Starting in 1973, he worked in a feedlot practice in Scott City, Kansas. Dr. Schumacher then was a relief veterinarian at three practices in California from 1976 to 1977. He then joined an equine practice in Chino, California, where he worked from 1977 to 1978. Dr. Schumacher completed a surgery residency in the Department of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1978. He completed his residency and attained a master’s degree in 1980 and worked briefly as a relief veterinarian in Liberal, Kansas.
In 1981, he accepted a position as an instructor in the Department of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery at Texas A&M and rose the ranks to become a full professor. In 1997, Dr. Schumacher served as a senior lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. In 1999, he moved back to the United States where he was an associate professor and eventually a full professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University.
Between 2001 and 2003, Dr. Schumacher was a lecturer at the Department of Veterinary Surgery at the University College of Dublin. He taught at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences from 2003 to 2019. He served as a surgeon and instructor during locums at Massey University in New Zealand, Texas A&M University, and Kansas State University.
Dr. Schumacher became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1989. He is also a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He has received the Cheshire Award for having the highest-grade point average at the end of his junior year of veterinary school, the Thomas C. Johnson Scholarship for outstanding achievement in post-doctoral studies in veterinary medicine, the Richard H. Davis Teaching Award and is an honored mentor through the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Foundation’s Honor a Mentor Program.
Dr. Jim Schumacher and his wife, Elizabeth, have been married for 32 years. They have three children: Owen, Patrick, and Niamh.