Assistant professor at MSU to stand trial for felony animal neglect
Schenck waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
An assistant professor at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine was charged with felony animal neglect after authorities allegedly found 17 dogs and two cats in poor condition at her home. Patricia Schenck, DVM, PhD, waived her right to a preliminary hearing in Clinton County District Court that would have determined whether there was enough evidence for a trial. No trial date has been set, but if convicted, the 55-year-old faces up to four years in prison.
Schenck is presently suspended with pay from her job at MSU. It has been reported that Schenck did not treat animals at her job. She specializes in endocrinology and has published several papers on topics including clinical pathology, emergency medicine and infectious diseases, among others, according to the university website. The site also states that Schenck’s research interests focus on calcium disorders; the impact of nutrition in disease development and treatment; lipid metabolic disorders; and associations between adipolines, obesity and insulin resistance. Schenck earned her doctor of veterinary medicine from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Ill., in 1982 before obtaining a nutritional biochemistry degree from the University of Florida in 1991.
Schenck is out on bond and has been ordered not to have any animals in her possession.
