Colorado State University is celebrating the life and legacy of the late Bernie Rollin, a beloved University Distinguished Professor who passed away last year at the age of 78.

CSU is hosting a memorial service for Rollin on Wednesday, Sept. 7, from 3-6 p.m. in the Lory Student Center’s Grand Ballroom. Registration for the service is available at col.st/M5zRB.

Interim President Rick Miranda and Interim Provost Jan Nerger are among the members of CSU’s leadership team expected to take part in the ceremony’s processional. Guests interested in speaking at the service are invited to sign up on the service’s registration page. The service, which had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will include a reception following the speakers.

Rollin, who passed away on Nov. 19, had a career that spanned more than five decades at CSU.

As one of the country’s foremost experts on animal ethics and ethics in veterinary medicine, he had a profound effect on a broad swath of the population, including veterinarians, livestock owners and pet owners.

Rollin helped spearhead the national effort to administer pain management for animals after surgery, and in the early 1980s successfully pushed for legislation in Congress to protect laboratory animals.

But the University Distinguished Professor’s true passion, just as it was 50 years ago, was teaching and being a part of CSU.

“I’ve had chances to go elsewhere, and wild horses couldn’t drag me out of here,” Rollin said in 2019 shortly before his retirement. “It doesn’t feel like 50 years. I never got disillusioned or depressed by teaching; I still love it.”