What would you do if you were unable to find a veterinarian for your beloved dog or cat if they became sick? People who serve as caretakers for animals love their pets. The state of Arizona, however, has a shortage of trained veterinarians due to the fact that there is minimal animal medicine programs in the state. One university seeks to address this problem with a new program in veterinary medicine at the University of Arizona.
Funded by a $9 million life science grant from the Kemper and Ethel Marley foundation, the new program will run year-round so students have the chance to finish their degrees more quickly, take on less debt and begin working as veterinarians in Arizona faster. School officials say they have a fall 2015 target date for the launch of the program. This latest life science grant will be counted towards the university’s Arizona NOW campaign, which seeks to raise $1.5 billion in funding.
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"This [veterinary] program is incredibly important to Arizona and I thank the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation for their generous support," said University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart. "This innovative program will help the UA to meet a critical need for veterinarians throughout Arizona, and provide a vital talent base for the state’s growing workforce needs."
The new program will be located within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Already conducting numerous pioneering studies in their fields, researchers within this college work in departments such as agricultural and biosystems engineering; the school of plant sciences; entomology; nutritional sciences; agricultural education; the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences; soil, water and environmental science; agricultural and resource economics; the School of Natural Resources and the Environment; and the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Because the program in veterinary medicine at the University of Arizona will be one of the first in the state, students of animal medicine currently have to apply to out-of-state universities to study in this field. With a shortage of veterinarians in Arizona, the lack of animal medicine programs have made it more difficult to find medical help for animals, and Arizona universities have not produced a lot of research in veterinary medicine.
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"Arizona students pay higher costs through non-resident or private tuition, incur more debt and often stay in the practices, or seek employment with, the out-of-state veterinary practices and companies where they intern as part of the out-of-state education," said Shane Burgess, vice provost and CALS dean. "We need the smart and dedicated people we train to stay here. Arizona’s hard-earned tax dollars need to promote Arizona’s future."
The University of Arizona will add this animal medicine program to their current 57 shared research facilities, which Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. highlighted in a blog article earlier this month. New programs and advanced research facilities require enough funding to support them, but fortunately the University of Arizona receives life science grants in profusion. So far in 2014, the National Institutes of Health has given the University of Arizona, Tucson $60.8 million in research funding, while the National Science Foundation also gave university $67.9 million in 2013.
Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. invites lab suppliers interested in marketing their products and services to the well-funded life science professionals and within the new program of veterinary medicine at the University of Arizona to exhibit at the BioResearch Product Faire™ Event at the University of Arizona on December 4th, 2014. To meet researchers in other regions of the United States, please see the 2014 calendar of events. Click on the button below for more University of Arizona funding statistics and life science vendor show information.
