A-State's Upcoming College of Veterinary Medicine on the Path to Accreditation

JONESBORO – Forward-looking work on the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) at Arkansas State University (A-State) is progressing well.

Earlier this month, the Council on Education (COE) of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) visited the college to conduct a consultative site visit.

Dr. Heidi Banse, dean of the CVM, recently arrived to take up her role at the college.

“The AVMA COE site visitors met with A-State staff to gather perspectives on facilities, policies and procedures, as well as the personnel supporting the College of Veterinary Medicine. This included a review of current personnel and facilities, as well as future plans,” Banse said.

Now that the first site visit is complete, Banse said they can continue moving forward with plans for the college.

“We appreciate the thoughtful questions from the site visit team and their careful review of the current status and future plans for A-State's CVM. The next steps are for the COE to review the findings from the site visit and determine whether our CVM is ready for a comprehensive site visit,” she added.

Banse is completing her first week at A-State and is eager to build out the team for the CVM.

“We look forward to recruiting additional members to our leadership team, including an associate dean for professional education and an associate dean for student programs and admissions,” she continued.

“We are also working to develop policies, procedures and educational components for the CVM, and continuing to work with our clinical affiliate partners to ensure their readiness for our clinical students.”

The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board previously approved A-State's plan to establish the College of Veterinary Medicine, including an outline of the college and the additional faculty needed for instruction.

The current staff includes Banse, as well as Dr. Len Frey, senior advisor for strategic initiatives and senior associate dean, Dr. Glen Hoffsis, who serves as founding dean, Dr. John Weale, associate dean for clinical relations and accreditation, and Dr. Jim Lloyd, senior advisor at Animal Health Economics, LLC, who is working remotely.

Currently, the CVM team is working out of Ellis House, an A-State facility located on Nettleton Ave., named after Dean B. Ellis, who along with his family donated the facility to the university.

“We are also planning to construct a CVM building on the main campus, which will include faculty offices, flexible classrooms, and laboratory space designed for hands-on instruction in anatomy, clinical skills, and surgery,” Banse added. “We are partnering with the College of Agriculture to renovate existing animal science facilities for instruction in large animal clinical skills.”

The addition of a new college on the A-State campus will benefit not only current and future students but is also significant for the regional community.

“We are excited to continue making progress in the development of our Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. This program creates opportunities for aspiring Arkansas veterinarians to stay in the state for their training. It also helps ensure an adequate number of veterinary graduates in the region to meet regional workforce needs,” Banse continued.