The College of Veterinary Medicine bids farewell to tireless advocate

A longtime UF College of Veterinary Medicine faculty member who spent his career working to improve public health, the health of livestock and the lives of veterinary medical students through scholarship support passed away Jan. 31 at the age of 83.

Paul Nicoletti, D.V.M., M.S., a professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the college, was a 1956 graduate of the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine and received a Master of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1962. He began his career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Missouri, with later duties in Wisconsin, New York, Mississippi and Florida. Most of his career was spent with the USDA and later at UF, where he taught infectious diseases, epidemiology, public health and food safety for 25 years and influenced many veterinary medical students to consider careers in agriculture and public health.

He retired from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003, after having amassed several important honors and awards for his achievement. Among those were being named Veterinarian of the Year by the Florida Veterinary Medical Association in 1994 and being presented with the college’s Distinguished Service Award in 2003. He received the Meyer-Steele Gold Head Cane Award, the highest award the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society gives, in 2010, and in 2013 Nicoletti was inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame.

“The college has lost a great friend and a tireless advocate,” said James W. Lloyd, D.V.M., Ph.D., a professor and dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “His professional expertise was surpassed only by his kindness, generosity and mentorship to students and colleagues alike. We will miss him greatly.”