Veterinary school restored
to full accreditation

By Lynn Narlesky

BOLSTERED by an ambitious $354 million building program, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, California, has been restored to full accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association, ending more than six years of limited accreditation for the school.

The decision came following a full review by the AVMA accreditation team, including a December site visit and facilities inspection.

"This is very good news indeed," said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "We are indebted to many whose advocacy, generous philanthropic support and just plain hard work enabled us to pursue such an aggressive building program - a program that will provide facilities befiting what is arguably the nation's finest veterinary school. I'd like to especially acknowledge Sen. Chuck Poochigian, former Assembly member and current Yolo County Supervisor Helen Thomson and the late Sen. Ken Maddy, whose efforts particularly helped position us for success."

"We are thrilled that our school now meets or exceeds all 11 AVMA accreditation standards," said Bennie Osburn, dean of the veterinary school, who received the news by telephone from the AVMA's Council on Education. "Bold action by state leaders, working in concert with campus and UC officials and concerned friends, brought in an amazing $140 million in public and private funds. As a result, we have begun or completed five new building projects in the past five years that directly address teaching priorities," Osburn said. "Our faculty, staff and students also have worked so hard to help assure that the school would be restored to full accreditation."

The veterinary school has been on limited accreditation since the summer of 1998, when the AVMA cited it for inadequate facilities for teaching, research and clinical care. Other than facilities, the school passed that review in all areas.

The 1998 accreditation review committee recommended that the campus update or replace ageing facilities and unite all veterinary faculty and staff members with the rest of the campus's health-science programs. At the time, core veterinary teaching programs were housed in Haring Hall and a collection of long-term temporary buildings on the central campus, while clinical services and additional research programs were located at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and Tupper Hall, both in the health sciences district on the west side of the campus.

Since being placed on limited accreditation, the veterinary school has continued its teaching, research, clinical and public service programs, while working to upgrade its facilities. The past six years have seen unprecedented planning and growth for the school.

Newly completed veterinary facilities include:

* The 63,000-square-foot veterinary medicine laboratory facility, completed in 2002, includes instructional surgery suites for veterinary students, animal-holding facilities for both large and small animals, a facility for canine blood donors and an instructional lecture hall.

* A new $14 million, 36,000 square foot building added in 2004 for the school's Center for Companion Animal Health. The new facility and $2.4 million in major equipment were funded by private donations from individuals and foundations.

Veterinary school facilities now under construction include:

* The Veterinary Medicine Instructional Facility, which broke ground in April 2004 north of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. This two-storey, 55,000 square foot classroom complex will replace cramped and ageing facilities and become the instructional heart of the expanded, modernized veterinary campus.

* The six-storey, $77 million Veterinary Medicine 3A building, which will include 98,000 square feet of teaching and research laboratories, research support services, academic offices, clinical services and administrative offices.

* A 20,000-square-foot Equine Athletic Performance Laboratory. In addition to the new buildings, a number of upgrades have been made to existing facilities, some of which are more than 50 years old.

The 57-year-old UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is the largest of the nation's 28 public veterinary institutions and California's only public veterinary school. It currently enrolls 488 students for the doctor of veterinary medicine degree, with each incoming class now including 122 students. Other teaching programs in the school include an extensive residency program at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, a master's degree program in preventive veterinary medicine and graduate academic studies.

The school is the primary health resource for California's companion animals, livestock and wildlife. It's internationally recognized teaching hospital, staffed by more than 300 medical, nursing, technical and administrative employees, treats more than 30,000 animals each year, while teaching essential clinical skills to veterinary students.

The veterinary school is reviewed every seven years by the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education, which is recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the accrediting agency for colleges and schools of veterinary medicine in the United States.