Advocacy for Veterinary Education: Addressing Faculty Shortages and Future Needs
Deans and Directors for Change in Veterinary Education
ADVOCACY DAY 2024. Denise Imai-Leonard, Director of the Comparative Pathology Laboratory, went to Capitol Hill to advocate for the future of veterinary medical education with Dean Stetter of UC Davis and Dean Tegzes, Executive Associate Dean McClure and Director Diniz from Western University. The need is pressing. Access to care, food safety, animal welfare, pandemic prevention, medical innovation, environmental health and conservation, are only a few spaces in which veterinarians are critically needed.
As of fall 2023, the US members of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges report that 18% of funded, open faculty positions remain unfilled. In contrast, student matriculation is rising 3% per year and there are at least 12 new US veterinary medical schools opening soon. To train more veterinarians, we need more educators!