A lasting legacy: Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle honored with El Toro Award for Excellence in Food Animal Science
By Troy Johnson
Soon after learning she would be receiving the 2025 El Toro Award for Excellence in Food Animal Medicine at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Annual Conference, Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle did what came naturally to her. She took the opportunity to ensure others knew how much they were appreciated, sending off an email to her former large animal and food animal colleagues within the college to thank them for their support.
“I’ve had so many good times with all of you,” she wrote. “… I count myself blessed to have taught some of you and to have worked with each of you through the years. I know that the students, residents and interns are getting a great education and are lucky to be taught by all of you. I hope you all know this award is incredibly special, but above all I am most thankful for your friendship.”
That gesture captured the consistent generosity and uplifting nature Schnuelle displayed during a career that spanned more than 25 years of service to Auburn University and the broader veterinary profession. While Schnuelle’s life was tragically taken in early September, her colleagues and former students remember her as much for her kindness as they do her incredible productivity as a researcher and her talents as an educator. Through the annual El Toro Award, the college recognizes a veterinarian who, through their ideals, dedication to the production of food animals and contributions to food animal practice and organized veterinary medicine, serves as a role model for students.
“We fondly remember the joy that she brought every single day to our college,” College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Calvin Johnson said. “She uplifted spirits and built confidence in people. She made everybody around her better.”
As Assistant Clinical Professor Jenna Stockler noted during the awards presentation on October 3, Schnuelle’s 120-page CV reflected “her deep commitment to mentorship and student success.” During her tenure as a professor in the college’s Department of Clinical Sciences, Schnuelle taught and provided mentorship to more than 2,500 veterinary students, 25 theriogenology residents, 20 internal medicine residents and countless interns. She contributed more than 100 manuscripts and book chapters, including 52 as primary or senior author, and delivered more than 170 invited lectures locally, nationally and globally. Schnuelle secured more than $4.5 million in extramural funding and led $1.6 million in sponsored research as a principal investigator.
What delighted Schnuelle in particular, according to Stockler, was the opportunity to help Auburn Vet Med students contribute to published research.
“Her philosophy was simple,” Stockler said. “If you laid a fingertip on the animal, you deserved to be included, and you were. Many students and residents alike saw their names in print for the first time because of her belief in inclusivity and shared credit. Her dedication to our success was unwavering. Her passion for teaching was legendary.”
Schnuelle earned her DVM from Auburn in 1996 and received the Outstanding Senior Student award for her dedication to patient care. After graduation, she worked in small and mixed animal practices in Auburn and Columbus before completing her residency in theriogenology in 1998. During her residency, she earned awards for academic excellence, manuscript submissions and overall achievement. She earned board certification in theriogenology in 2002 and completed her Ph.D. in biomedical sciences in 2003.
Within a decade of graduation, she earned the college’s Young Achievers Award, recognizing outstanding veterinarians for professional accomplishments, and in 2011 was named one of the top 100 scientists by the International Biographical Center. Schnuelle, who earned full professorship in 2015, demonstrated her commitment to service as the college’s liaison to the Committee of 19, a student-led group dedicated to hunger relief, a faculty representative to the student chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and as coach of the college’s bovine palpation team.
Even after retiring from the college’s Department of Clinical Sciences in 2021, Schnuelle refused to slow down. Within 30 days of joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a new role, she was deployed to respond to avian influenza outbreaks in Maryland and Delaware. That she would be in the thick of finding solutions to a major challenge so soon into her next career phase didn’t come as a shock to anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Dr. Kendra Stauffer, district director of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), often wondered why Schnuelle was eager to serve as the USDA’s Area Veterinarian in Charge for Alabama and Mississippi. Why take on a demanding and potentially high-stress role after retiring?
Stauffer said Schnuelle’s answer was simple. It was about using her knowledge and leadership ability to make a positive impact.
Her husband, Archie Schnuelle, said she was always driven by the desire to help others.
“For as long as I have known Julie, she has been driven by a passion for animals and a relentless dedication to the veterinary profession,” he said. “As her partner, I have had a unique perspective on the long hours, the difficult cases and the emotional weight of her job. I have also seen the incredible moments of triumph, the joy, the laughter in her voice after a successful surgery, the victory of the palpation teams, the student successes and the deep connections she forges with the animals and her human family and friends here in the community. This was not just a job for her. It was a calling and a passion. She has always believed in the power of veterinary medicine. She was a compassionate leader, brilliant clinician and tireless worker.”
One day after Schnuelle’s family accepted the El Toro Award on her behalf, they gathered with many of her friends and colleagues at Auburn’s Kiesel Park. The group engaged in a “Finish the Walk” event in her memory, completing the journey she was unable to finish in early September and planting a tree in her honor.
“Dr. Schnuelle’s legacy is etched not only in the literature she authored, but in the lives she touched, in the students she inspired, in the standards she set for excellence in the veterinary profession,” Stockler said.