2025 Wilford Bailey Award Winners Announced at Reception
Three outstanding alumni of Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine — Dr. Charles S. Roney ’81, Dr. Dorsey Hightower ’68 and Dr. Danny R. Walker ’79 — will be honored as the 2025 winners of the Wilford S. Bailey Awards during a CVM reception held April 17, 2025.
The award is the highest honor given to Auburn veterinary alumni to recognize their professional accomplishments in veterinary medicine, outstanding contributions to their communities and the overall advancement of animal and human health. It is named to honor the late Wilford S. Bailey, who held a 50-year continuous faculty appointment at Auburn, serving in positions ranging from veterinary instructor to dean to university president.
A 1942 graduate of the college, Dr. Bailey was the first recipient of the CVM’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Following his death in 2000, the award was named for him. Awardees are recognized in three different areas of eligibility: academia, private practice and research and public policy. This year’s recipients include:
Dr. Charles S. Roney ’81 (Research and Public Policy/Other)
Charles Roney earned his B.S. in animal and dairy science at Auburn before continuing into the College of Veterinary Medicine to complete his DVM. He later earned a master’s degree in avian medicine from the University of Georgia. Afterwards, he held a variety of positions, including Poultry Staff Veterinarian for Salsbury Laboratories in Charles City, Iowa; Director of the Alabama State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Boaz, Alabama; Director of Veterinary Services for INTERVET in Millsboro, Delaware; Technical Service Manager-Poultry for ALPHARMA, Inc., in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Director of Veterinary Services for Gold Kist, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 2022, Dr. Roney became a part-time clinical professor at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine’s Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center in Athens, Georgia. In addition, he is a private Poultry Health Consultant for CSR Poultry Health Consulting Services, LLC., in Midland City, Alabama.
A diplomate, charter and Board of Governors member of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians, Dr. Roney is chair of that organization’s training committee. He is also a past chair of the American Association of Avian Pathologists Preceptorship Committee as well as a member of the Association of Veterinarians in Broiler Production, the AVMA and the Alabama and Georgia Veterinary Medical Associations.
Dr. Roney has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including being selected as a recipient of the Auburn CVM’s Young Achiever’s Award and the Distinguished Service Award, given by the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association.
Dr. Dorsey Hightower ’68 (Private Practice)
Dorsey Hightower attended Berry College and the University of Florida prior to earning his Auburn DVM. While at Auburn, he was active in the student chapter of the AMA and also served as the Auburn delegate to the 1967 AMA Convention meeting in Dallas. Following graduation, Dr. Hightower worked at a small animal practice in Lakeland, Florida, until he was called into the U.S. Air Force, where he served as Base Veterinarian for two years followed by four years of USAF Reserve status.
In 1971, Dr. Hightower started a private small animal practice in Lakeland. Over the next 50 years, he remained active in the AVMA, the FVMA (membership chair and two Gold Stars) and the multi-county local Ridge Veterinary Medical Society —serving as president for several years. He started the Ridge Animal Foundation and the Polk County Animal Control Spay/Neuter Program. Later, he helped launch the first after-hours emergency rotation for a group of 10 local veterinarians.
In 1982, the first after-hours emergency clinic opened its doors to remain available to pets and their families every weekday from 5:30 pm to 8:00 am, including all weekends and every holiday for the next 40 years. Dorsey served as President of the Board of Directors for the Veterinary Emergency Clinic for all those years and was responsible for doctor, tech and front office staff coverage. He continued his private practice during these same years and opened a second practice in 1991. A member of the Auburn School of Veterinary Medicine Centennial Club, Dr. Dorsey currently continues to work at the clinic as a relief veterinarian.
Dr. Danny R. Walker ’79 (Academia)
Danny Walker earned his B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee-Martin before attending Auburn to earn his DVM. Following graduation, he worked as a Practicing Veterinarian at Airways Animal Clinic in Jackson, Tennessee, before later becoming the owner and veterinarian at Jackson Pet Emergency Clinic, Jackson Animal Clinic and North Madison Animal Hospital in Jackson.
In 2011, Dr. Walker joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee-Martin as Professor of Veterinary Science and Technology. Since 2022, he has continued to serve on the UT-M faculty in a part-time capacity.
A former member and past president of the Tennessee State Board of Veterinary Examiners, Dr. Walker is also a former president of the TVMA. He is also active in the AVMA and was previously a member of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA), the Tennessee Academic Society and the American Association of Feline Practitioners.
Over the course of his career Dr. Walker has received a number of awards and honors, including several NACTA Teaching Awards of Merit and the Elsevier Award for Teaching Excellence from the Association of Veterinary Technician Educators. He was also named the Jackson Sun newspaper’s Veterinarian of the Year six times.