Blazing a Trail At the Vanguard

Betty Benton Self’s 43-year career as a veterinarian almost didn’t happen.

It was the early 1950s when the Odessa, Texas, native first applied to Texas A&M’s veterinary program. And women were not admitted.

The university told her change was in progress and to try back later. But on her second attempt she still wasn’t accepted, even though she met all the criteria including a bachelor’s degree in pre-veterinary medicine.

“Texas A&M was not going to accept me,” Self says. “Not because of my qualifications, but because of my gender.”

A family friend took the issue to the Texas board of regents, which negotiated a contract with Oklahoma’s regents allowing in Kenya, East Africa, studying swine fever for a U.S. Department of Agriculture project. He helped adapt the agar gel immunodiffusion test to the diagnosis of African swine fever, an experience that helped with his future work. her to attend OSU, where two years earlier June Iben had become the first female veterinary student.

Five years later, Coggins returned to Cornell University from Africa to work on equine infectious anemia, a disease similar to human AIDS. Once infected, an animal remains infected for life. Even though there may be no obvious symptoms for an extended period, the animal can infect other animals if not isolated. Early detection became a critical weapon to combat equine infectious anemia.

“I was pretty happy about it and a little apprehensive,” Self says. “I didn’t know much about OSU.”

Self found most classmates and instructors to be supportive and encouraging, particularly Dr. Peterson and Dr. Friend. “My being the only female in the class was not an issue for my fellow classmates. Our class had lots of gatherings and was a close-knit group,” she says. They’ve remained close for 50 years, reuniting every five years.

She and classmate Leon Self married between their sophomore and junior years and worked together after graduation at a mixed-practice in Ada, Okla.