LSU Veterinary Professor retires after more than 35 years at LSU

Joseph Taboada, DVM, DACVIM, has retired after more than 35 years on the faculty of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Taboada

joined the faculty as an assistant professor of small animal internal medicine in July 1988. In his time at LSU Vet Med, he was promoted to full professor and served as both the associate dean for student and academic affairs and associate dean for academic affairs and accreditation.

Dr. Taboada received his BS from Georgetown University in 1980, and his DVM from the Virginia/ Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1984. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine).

In his 35 years at LSU Vet Med, Dr. Taboada has taught courses on internal medicine to more than 2,800 veterinary students. In his role as associate dean for student and academic affairs from July 2001 through March 2018, he mentored countless students as they navigated the veterinary curriculum and career opportunities. He also served as an interim director of the LSU Vet Med Veterinary Teaching Hospital from July 2006 through June 2007 and again from June 2015 through June 2016. From March 2018 through July 2020, he served as associate dean for academic affairs and accreditation, managing the arduous process of veterinary school re-accreditation, which occurs every seven years. In 2020, he returned to his role as professor of small animal internal medicine, educating future veterinarians.

Oliver A. Garden, BVetMed, PhD, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA, dean of LSU Vet Med, welcomed Dr. Taboada and guests. He remarked that he had known Dr. Taboada as a colleague and fellow member of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine for many years before coming to LSU Vet Med as dean. “Dr. Taboada is someone I have admired and respected for decades as a fellow small animal internist. He was one of the first people with whom I communicated by email when I accepted the job as dean of LSU Vet Med. To be congratulated and welcomed by Joe meant the world to me. I knew immediately that I had made an excellent decision! I have never regrated a single day at this fine school of veterinary medicine since – I know in large part reflecting Joe’s influence over the past three-and-a-half decades in shaping our wonderful culture and advancing our school in so many ways.”

From Kayla Baudoin, wellbeing manager: “If you have worked with Dr. Taboada, you know he is a mentor in everything that he does. From teaching to finding solutions in the workplace, he finds ways to offer guiding support in all endeavors. He was patient when teaching me everything about veterinary medicine and, trust me, I had a lot of questions coming from a non-medical background. My professional growth and the development of my career path would not have been the same without him in my corner. After traveling the country together for recruiting, decluttering his office as if it was a team sport, and trying new eating spots together, we have established a friendship that I look forward to continuing into his next adventure!”

From Marie Cenac, DVM (LSU 1991): “When I was in New York, Dr. Michael Garvey (who I thought was the smartest internal medicine veterinarian and one of the scariest people for new interns) would often reference Dr. Taboada. Anytime I would give a wrong answer or not give the answer he wanted, Dr. Garvey would say, ‘Cenac, I know that’s not what Taboada taught you.’ And every time I did something right or answered something correctly, he would say, ‘Good. I knew that you couldn’t have been absent for every Taboada class!’”

At Dr. Taboada’s reception, former students and colleagues gave remarks about what Dr. Taboada has meant to them. Steven Marks, DVM, DACVIM, former LSU Vet Med internal medicine faculty member and inaugural dean of the Clemson University College of Veterinary Medicine, stated that when he was at LSU Vet Med, the interns, residents, and students often asked, ‘WWDTD,’ which translates to “What would Dr. Taboada do?” He went on to say, “You’re mentored by incredible people in your career, and I’ve been fortunate to be mentored by many, and then one day you wake up and you’re the mentor. And then you think, ‘Who have I become and why do I mentor that way?’ And I mentor the way that I do because of Joe Taboada.”

Dr. Taboada is a diplomate of the ACVIM, as well as a past President and Chair of the Board of ACVIM, of the Specialty of Internal Medicine, and of the ACVIM Foundation. He was a member of the Board of Regents of ACVIM from 1996-2009 and a member of the board of the ACVIM Foundation from 2004-2011. He served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine from 2002-2007. He presently serves on the Board of the International Council of Veterinary Assessment (ICVA). He was chair of the Annual Meeting Committee for the American Animal Hospital Association for over 10 years and Small Animal Medicine chair for the North American Veterinary Conference for 3 years (now VMX). 

He has been a member of the AAVMC Academic Affairs and Admissions committees since 1999. Having chaired the Academic Affairs Committee for three of those years. He has won 32 national and LSU Vet Med teaching and service awards, including the Andrew Lackner Mentoring Award in 2019, the Pfizer-Norden Distinguished Teacher Award in 2007, the Animal Medical Center Distinguish Alumni Award in 2004, the American Animal Hospital Association Innovative Veterinary Diets Award for contributions to the profession in 2003, the American Animal Hospital Association Distinguished Service Award in 2005, the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Distinguished Lee and Inga Pyle Service Award in 2012, and the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation Distinguished Service Award in 2013. 

Dr. Taboada has spoken at more than two hundred international, national, regional, and local meetings, and has a textbook that has been published in three languages, has written over one hundred book chapters, is a section editor for Cote’s Clinical Veterinary Advisor, and has authored or coauthored over one hundred scientific articles and proceedings manuscripts. His special interests are feline medicine, hepatology, fungal and other miscellaneous infectious diseases, and veterinary education.

About LSU Vet Med: Bettering lives through education, public service, and discovery

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 33 veterinary schools in the U.S. and the only one in Louisiana. LSU Vet Med is dedicated to improving and protecting the lives of animals and people through superior education, transformational research, and compassionate care. We teach. We heal. We discover. We protect.