Background

The College of Veterinary Medicine is the oldest public veterinary college in the United States. It has been a leader in veterinary medical education throughout its history. Since its founding in 1879, the College of Veterinary Medicine has evolved into a major teaching, research, and service center for the state of Iowa and beyond. Since its inception, the college has granted the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree to 6,400 individals. 

Student and Faculty Counts

Professional Student Enrollment (Spring 2006): 439

Graduate Student Enrollment (Spring 2006): 78

Degrees conferred:

• DVM (2006): 93
• MS (2006): 19
• PhD (2006): 17

Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty

• Total FTE: 106
• Men: 75.29 (71%)
• Women: 30.21 (29%)
• Minority: 11.62 (11.5%)
• % with terminal degree: 100%
• 52 board-certified faculty members

Employment /Placement (2006 graduates)

• Small animal practice: 30%
• Mixed and large animal practice: 24%
• Equine practice: 5%
• Advanced study: 29%
• Other: 20%

Academic Departments and Graduate Degree Programs

• Biomedical Sciences

  The BMS program is designed to train biomedical scientists in veterinary and comparative biology with emphasis on morphological analysis, cellular and molecular biology and physiology. BMS website

• Veterinary Clinical Sciences

  The graduate program of the department focuses on two major areas: residency training in preparation for board certification, and research training at the Master's level. The department offers the Master of Science degree with a major in Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Surgery, or Theriogenology. VCS website

• Veterinary Diagnostic & Production Animal Medicine

  Department faculty are recognized for expertise in a variety of basic disciplines, including bacteriology, epidemiology, immunology, pathology, statistics, toxicology, and virology. Research is focused on infectious and non-infectious diseases at both the basic and applied levels. VDPAM website

• Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine

  A broad range of basic and applied research includes: immunomodulation, vaccine development, infectious diseases, microbiology, microbial genetics, microbial pathogenesis, molecular virology, diagnostics, epidemiology, food microbiology, and food safety. VMPM website

• Veterinary Pathology

  The department offers a combined residency/Ph.D. program for veterinarians who can also enroll in a graduate program without a residency. Non-veterinarians can emphasize either cellular and molecular pathology or parasitology. These programs involve research, coursework (classes), and participation in graduate seminars. VPATH website

Annual Service Case Load

• Veterinary Medical Center: 18,000 patients
• Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory: over 40,000 accessions
• Pathology Diagnostic Service: over 34,791 accessions

Research Activities

• $11.2 million in sponsored funding (360% increase in funding awarded since 1999)
• Research focus areas:
  • Infectious disease
  • Neuroscience
  • Production animal medicine
  • Orthopedic surgery
  • Public health
  • Educational pedagogy

Accreditation Status

The College of Veterinary Medicine is fully accredited by the Council of Education (COE) of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The COE administers the accreditation program under guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Education. Information about the AVMA-COE accreditation process can be found at http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/about_accred.asp. The 11 standards that the COE uses in the accreditation process can be observed at http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/coe_standard.asp.

The College of Veterinary Medicine experienced a COE accreditation site visit in 2003. A self-study report was prepared for the review and is available for download. As a result of that visit and review, the college was placed on limited accreditation for the first time in its 125 year history. The COE asked the college to address declining medical center facilities, the need for a new isolation facility for animals with infectious diseases and the need to maintain appropriate numbers of clinical faculty in the medical center. The COE report is a confidential document. Additional information on the report can be obtained from Dean John U. Thomson. The college is required to file annual interim reports (2004 Interim Report, 2005 Interim Report) to the COE on the progress that has been made in correcting the accreditation deficiencies. The COE has granted the college a two year extension in the time frame needed to correct the accreditation deficiencies. The college has embarked on new medical center project for horses and food producing animals. This facility includes new isolation facilities as well as new imaging and intensive care facilities. The project also includes plans for extensive renovation of the existing medical center and its conversion to primarily small animal clinical facility. Through new revenue initiatives, the college is addressing the faculty and staffing needs identified in the COE accreditation report.