Dr. Karyn Malinowski, founding director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers University, received the 2023 Distinguished Service Award at the 2023 Equine Science Society Symposium in Grapevine, Texas.
The Distinguished Service Award in Equine Science recognizes outstanding contributions in the field. Award recipients must also have a record of significant accomplishments in teaching, research and extension or service as it relates to the advancement of the equine sciences and horse industry.
Karyn has served as a faculty member at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences since 1978 and in various roles, including extension specialist in equine sciences, animal sciences professor, founding director of the Equine Science Center and the director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
Her research and extension programs concentrate on improving the equine athlete’s well-being and quality of life, while ensuring the equine industry’s vitality and viability, both statewide and nationally.
After having the opportunity to drive the famous Niatross, she got interested in racing and spent several summers learning how to drive harness horses. In 2001, she acquired her first Standardbred racehorse, Could Be Magic, who took her to victory in her amateur debut in 2003 at Freehold Raceway.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award from the Equine Science Society,” said Karyn.
“It has been my extreme pleasure to have worked for over four decades with top-notch young people and horses.”
At the same meeting in Texas, Dr. Kenneth Harrington McKeever, FACSM, FAPS, a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Rutgers and associate director of research at the Rutgers Equine Science Center, was elevated to the rank of Fellow of the Equine Science Society. The rank of Fellow is an elite member status reserved for recognizing distinguished service to the horse industry and to the Equine Science Society over the member’s many years of service.