Midwest Roots

Dr. Howard Hill (PhD '74)
Howard Hill may have grown up in Southern California. His DVM degree may be from the University of California-Davis. For the past five decades however, Hill has been an Iowan. “My roots are more Midwestern now,” Hill said. “I have a strong love of the land and livestock here in Iowa.” Hill’s Iowa connection began shortly after graduating from vet school. He was practicing at a mixed animal clinic in California but was looking for something else. When he noticed a National Institute of Health Fellowship opportunity, he reached out to two schools. Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine responded, and the next thing Hill knew he was working on a master’s degree in microbiology. “I thought we would stay for a couple more years before moving back to California,” Hill said. Those two years became decades and a series of jobs in Iowa.