By Donald F. Smith, Cornell University
Posted January 18, 2013
With the appointment last week of a dean of veterinary medicine for Midwestern University, Arizona is moving forward with plans to open the 29th veterinary college in the United States in fall 2014. They have already received a State of Arizona License and are scheduled for a site team by the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association starting January 20, 2013.
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| Dr. Brian Sidaway is the dean of veterinary medicine at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizon (Photo by Midwestern University) |
Midwestern University, a not for profit health sciences university in Glendale, Arizona is home to colleges of osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, optometry, dental health and a large number of master and doctorate programs in its health science college. When I asked President and CEO Kathleen H. Goeppinger, Ph.D. last year why she would contemplate starting a college of veterinary medicine, she gave one of the most compelling rationales I have ever heard by a senior university administrator. “Quite simply,” she said, “animals contribute to human health and I felt having a health sciences campus without veterinary medicine would be incomplete.” Apart from the important role that animals play in supporting human health and well-being, she also pointed to the need to educate more veterinarians to serve in rural areas of Arizona.
At the national level, many practicing veterinarians feel that the 25% growth in the number of veterinary graduates in the last decade has created an oversupply of new veterinarians entering clinical practice. However, Arizona is the second most populous state without a veterinary college (1) and the number of Arizona residents who are accepted each year into U.S. veterinary colleges is among the lowest in the country. Similarly, the number of veterinarians per capita practicing in Arizona is much less than the national average.
When it comes to the vast rural areas in Arizona, the need for veterinarians is especially acute for both livestock and horses, but also for companion animals. Midwestern proposes to accept more students from rural areas with the hope that they will fill that critical need.
Another great unmet need for veterinarians across the entire U.S. is in public and corporate practice. This priority is recognized by former surgeon general Rich Carmona, MD, who lives in Tucson, AZ. Dr. Carmona is a strong supporter of the critical role of veterinarians in public health and he shared the following with me in March last year when the first announcement of Midwestern’s plans were made public.
"During my tenure as United States Surgeon General [2002-06], it became very apparent that veterinarians were essential elements not only to the nation's health, but also to national and global preparedness activities, and as leaders of our multidisciplinary teams.
Veterinarians were some of the most sought-after professionals by all branches of the Federal Government. Whether from traditional veterinary practice to research and development, zoonoses, emerging infectious and global health, we were always in short supply of veterinarians."
Midwestern will be just the fourth veterinary college in the U.S. to be established on a non land-grant campus. Though it will fulfill the need to educate students in species of agricultural interest, its urban location (2) and its educational priorities will also reflect the reality that the overwhelming majority of practicing veterinarians are needed in companion animal practice. These veterinarians not only serve the health needs of the family pet, but also promote the concept of one health for all species because of the positive impact pets have for human health and well-being.
1) Arizona's population is 6.6 million (2012 estimate). New Jersey, the most populous state without a veterinary college, has 8.9 million people.
2) Midwestern is located in a metropolitan area of over four million people, one of only four veterinary colleges in the country located in the top 15 metropolitan areas in the U.S. Like Midwestern, each of the other three colleges is located on a campus with other health science colleges (University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University and Western University of the Health Sciences).
2) Midwestern is located in a metropolitan area of over four million people, one of only four veterinary colleges in the country located in the top 15 metropolitan areas in the U.S. Like Midwestern, each of the other three colleges is located on a campus with other health science colleges (University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University and Western University of the Health Sciences).