James F. Dougherty. Photo: courtesy of Rutgers-New Brunswick Honors College website.
The Class of 2026 inductees into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni have excelled in a varied range of fields—obstetrics and gynecology, addiction prevention and treatment, veterinary medicine, football and entrepreneurship, and government and insurance industry leadership—but they all share a uniquely Scarlet bond: A significant, unwavering devotion to supporting the university where they began their journeys.
James F. Dougherty RC’74, GSNB’75 is one of five outstanding graduates selected by the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA) Board of Directors and will be inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni at a ceremony in April.
Dougherty earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at Rutgers College and a master’s degree in animal science at Rutgers–New Brunswick. He is a retired veterinarian who has generously supported the university. Cofounder of Metropolitan Veterinary Associates in Norristown, Pennsylvania, he was awarded the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association’s 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served on many Rutgers committees and is vice chair of the Board of Governors.
Introduced in 1987, the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni’s first class of inductees included Paul Robeson and two Nobel Prize winners—economist Milton Friedman and scientist Selman Waksman. Since then, more than 250 alumni have been inducted, including five former New Jersey governors, Emmy Award-winning actor Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Carli Lloyd, a professional soccer star who led the U.S. team to two Olympic gold medals.
The 2026 awardees also include Eric LeGrand SAS’14, James H. Rhodes CCAS’94, Creighton Drury RC’92, and Gloria A. Bachmann NCAS’70, RWJMS’72.
Read more at the full article which first appeared on the Rutgers University Foundation website.
