Rate My Professor Fales Williams

Amanda J. Fales-Williams is the Morrill Professor and Chair of the Department of Veterinary Pathology at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she holds the Tyrone D. Artz, M.D. Chair for Teaching Excellence. A Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in Anatomic Pathology, she earned her B.S. in Zoology with departmental honors and a minor in English from the University of Kentucky in 1991, her DVM from the University of Missouri in 1995, and her Ph.D. along with a residency in Veterinary Anatomic Pathology from Iowa State University in 2000. She joined the Iowa State University faculty in 1995 and has since advanced through the ranks, serving as interim chair of the Department of Veterinary Pathology in 2019 before her permanent appointment as chair. Fales-Williams coordinates the department's anatomic pathology residency program and serves as instructor-in-charge for two core courses: one introducing first-year veterinary students to pathology foundations and another involving senior-year necropsy rotations. As a member of the Comparative Pathology Core, she acts as a project pathologist on various studies.

Her research interests encompass educational assessment, peer education in medical curricula, and the development of pathology diagnostics. Fales-Williams has garnered significant recognition for her teaching excellence, including the 2025 College of Veterinary Medicine recipient of the AAVMC Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award, the Iowa State University Morrill Professor designation in 2022, the ISU Award for Early Achievement in Teaching, ISU Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching, ISU Award for Early Achievement in Departmental Leadership, and the Dr. William O. Reece Award for Outstanding Academic Advising. She previously served as president of the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and currently chairs the Maintenance of Certification Development Committee for the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. Notable publications include 'Retrospective evaluation of cases of neoplasia in a captive population of Egyptian Fruit Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus)' (Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 2015), 'Equine placental mixed germ cell tumor with metastasis to the foal' (Veterinary Pathology, 2015), 'Peer Assessment of a Senior Year Capstone Experience for Formative Evaluation of a Pathology Curriculum' (Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 2008), and 'The Case Correlation Assignment: Connecting Antemortem and Postmortem Data in the Senior Year at Iowa State University' (Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 2007). Her contributions have established a national reputation in veterinary pathology education.