May 8, 2009

School of Veterinary Medicine marks 50th anniversary

On Sept. 9, 1959, 50 students were welcomed to campus as the first class to attend Purdue's new School of Veterinary Medicine. Forty-four of these students would go on to shake hands with President Frederick Hovde and Dean Erskine Morse as they received their diplomas four years later. Today, more than 2,700 doctors of veterinary medicine and more than 800 veterinary technicians have graduated from the school, which is in the midst of celebrating its 50th anniversary.

"This is a very important milestone in the life of our school and it is wise for us to take this opportunity to recognize the great history of a great school that serves a great profession," says Dean
Willie Reed, who earned his doctorate in veterinary pathology from Purdue in 1982. "We want to pause to appreciate the contributions and accomplishments of so many who have given so much since the Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine opened its doors. We want to spend time, much as a family would, taking stock of our heritage, lauding our success, and looking together into a future filled with new opportunities."

Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine is the only veterinary school in Indiana and one of only 28 in the country. In addition to the doctor of veterinary medicine degree, the school offers associate's and bachelor's degrees in veterinary technology, postgraduate internships and residencies for doctors of veterinary medicine seeking specialty training, and graduate degrees in the departments of Basic Medical Sciences, Comparative Pathobiology and Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

Home to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, the school serves as a major referral center for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of all species of companion and food animals, as well as exotic pets and wildlife.

"The school was founded first and foremost for the purpose of training veterinary professionals to serve the needs of animal agriculture and companion animal owners," Reed says. "Our alumni have served in a wide variety of fields, from veterinary practitioners, to educators in veterinary colleges, veterinary school deans, high-level administrators in government and heads of veterinary organizations, including state veterinary medical associations and the American Veterinary Medical Association."

The school's accomplishments from the past 50 years are many. Reed highlights the creation of the school's veterinary technology program, which launched in 1975. Since then, Purdue has been one of only two programs nationally that integrates veterinary technology training with the education of doctors of veterinary medicine.

"Purdue faculty and administrators recognized that veterinary technicians, who fill the role of nurses in the veterinary profession, would play a pivotal role in the future," Reed says. "Moreover, they recognized the vital need to train veterinary professionals to work as a team, and the Purdue model of training veterinarians and veterinary technicians side-by-side in a clinical setting became the gold standard in veterinary education."

Other achievements for the school included the establishment of an interdisciplinary cancer research program called the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program in 1979 and the development of a distance-learning program for veterinary technology in the late 1990s.

Reed calls the Comparative Oncology Program a visionary effort.

"The program served as a forerunner to current research programs that link animal and human health through studies of animal diseases that serve as models for comparable human illnesses," he says.

The school's distance-learning program became accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2003. Today, the vet tech distance-learning program is one of only a few of its kind in the nation.

"More than 300 students are enrolled virtually in the School of Veterinary Medicine through online courses that make the veterinary technology program accessible to those who cannot relocate to the Purdue campus in West Lafayette," Reed says.

Reed also notes that the school was the first in the nation to use a "tracked" curriculum, enabling veterinary students to focus their education on their primary interest areas. The tracks include small animal, mixed animal, food animal, and companion animal.

Additionally the school introduced "problem-based learning" to provide students with more exposure earlier in their veterinary education to the diagnostic skills required in veterinary practice.

Reed and the school recently laid the groundwork for the next several years with the approval of a new strategic plan. The plan emphasizes increasing sponsored research funding, encouraging interdisciplinary efforts and raising the number of clinical trials. Other goals include enhancing support systems for students, continuing to diversify the school's student body and achieving national recognition.

The school also is poised to take a leadership role in addressing issues related to the human-animal bond. The school is launching the new Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program to focus on the growing issue of homeless pets and their medical needs.

"This initiative coupled with our well-known expertise in the study of the human-animal bond will enable us to guide and influence the process of finding real answers to the challenges posed by pet homelessness," Reed says.

In the next few years, the school will pursue adding new facilities to address the needs of large-animal owners. The existing Large Animal Hospital is substantially unchanged from when it opened 50 years ago.

"As an intermediate step, we are planning for a new satellite equine facility to be located near the Indiana Downs racetrack in Shelbyville," he says. "This satellite hospital will expand our ability to address the needs of the Indiana equine industry in collaboration with private practitioners."

SVM book

The School of Veterinary Medicine has published a book to commemorate its anniversary. "Celebrating a Continuum of Excellence: Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine 1959-2009" tells the story of the school's founding and the growth and development of both the school and the veterinary profession in Indiana since the late 1950s.