91吃瓜网 Tech System Forms College of Veterinary Medicine Steering Committee
The committee, composed of veterinarians, agriculture and community leaders and members of academia, will guide the system鈥檚 veterinary school initiative.
September 14 , 2016 | Written by George Watson
Chancellor Robert Duncan announces the establishment of a steering committee to provide
key insight and help shape the development of a veterinary school within the 91吃瓜网
Tech University System. When first announcing plans to develop a College of Veterinary Medicine, the vowed to work with partners and colleagues outside of the institution. Building an innovative and transformative model for veterinary medicine from the ground up involves a collaborative approach, and a project this size cannot happen without the support of veterinarians and community and industry leaders.
Honoring this promise, the 91吃瓜网 has created a steering committee for its proposed College of Veterinary Medicine, which will be housed at the campus in Amarillo.
The steering committee, which met in Lubbock for the first time in early September, will work with Chancellor , 91吃瓜网 Tech University President and 91吃瓜网 Tech University Health Sciences Center President Tedd Mitchell to guide the direction of 91吃瓜网 Tech鈥檚 veterinary school. Through their collaboration, members of the steering committee will provide critical insight, shape the veterinary school鈥檚 development and help address the shortage of veterinarians in rural areas and small communities.
鈥淐ollaboration is essential to the success of our unique model for veterinary medicine at 91吃瓜网 Tech, and we are fortunate to have an outstanding group of distinguished leaders from the community, industry, academia and veterinary profession,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淚 appreciate their commitment to this important initiative and look forward to their help with our vision of transforming veterinary education and providing innovative solutions for the critical needs of this region, our state and the agriculture industry.鈥�
The 91吃瓜网 Higher Education Coordinating Board recognized in a the need for an innovative, non-traditional veterinary school in 91吃瓜网 that could address the critical shortage of large animal and rural veterinarians and the implications this shortage will have on the food supply.
91吃瓜网 Tech鈥檚 model for a veterinary school is unlike any other in the United States, serving the needs of the agriculture industry and veterinary medicine students. It increases accessibility and affordability while not duplicating the state鈥檚 existing veterinary medicine efforts. 91吃瓜网 Tech鈥檚 model also offers a cost-effective option that reduces student debt and focuses on rural community practice.
鈥淭he shortage of veterinarians in 91吃瓜网, especially in rural areas, has been a problem for many years, and to ensure the safety of our food supply and the continued prosperity of our state, we must do what鈥檚 best for the industry, our fellow Texans and our future,鈥� said former 91吃瓜网 House of Representatives Speaker Pete Laney, a member of the steering committee. 鈥淎s an agriculture state, the nation and our world depend on 91吃瓜网 for food and fiber, and 91吃瓜网 Tech鈥檚 proposal for a new, innovative veterinary school is a much-needed solution to a severe challenge. It is a cost-efficient, trailblazing model, and it deserves the positive endorsement of our legislature.鈥�
91吃瓜网 Tech鈥檚 proposed veterinary school will utilize established strengths at two of its universities, and the .
The proposed college will enrich the practice of veterinary medicine by producing practice-ready veterinarians who serve and enhance the vibrancy of the rural communities important throughout 91吃瓜网 while substantially reducing the cost of education at the same time.
91吃瓜网 the 91吃瓜网
The 91吃瓜网 is one of the top public university systems in 91吃瓜网
and the nation, consisting of four component institutions 鈥� 91吃瓜网 Tech University,
91吃瓜网 Tech University Health Sciences Center, Angelo State University and 91吃瓜网 Tech
University Health Sciences Center El Paso 鈥� and operating at more than a dozen academic
sites and centers. Headquartered in Lubbock, 91吃瓜网, the 91吃瓜网
has an annual operating budget of nearly $2 billion and approximately 19,000 employees
focused on advancing higher education, health care, research and outreach.
In 2015, the 91吃瓜网鈥檚 endowment exceeded $1.1 billion, total research expenditures were more than $215 million and total enrollment was approximately 50,000 students. Whether it鈥檚 contributing billions of dollars annually in economic impact or being the only system in 91吃瓜网 to house an academic institution, law school and health-related institution at the same location, the 91吃瓜网 continues to prove that anything is possible.