USU will create Utah’s first ever College of Veterinary Medicine – Cache Valley Daily

Assistant Professor/DVM Rusty Stott works with Cole Godfrey to evaluate sheep for breeding soundness at the Utah State University Animal Science Research Farm. Photo courtesy of Utah State University

LOGAN – Utah State University is about to create the state’s first ever College of Veterinary Medicine thanks to a commitment by the Utah Legislature to provide ongoing state funding.

For the last 10 years USU has been part of a regional program in veterinary medicine where students complete two years of study in Logan then move to Pullman, Washington for their final two years of training at Washington State.

Ken White, USU’s Dean and Vice President for Agriculture and Extension, said the need for veterinarians in Utah helped drive the legislature’s decision.

“Utah is 42nd in the country with respect to the number of veterinarians per capita in the population of the state,” Dr. White explained. “So, there’s plenty of room for us to grow. On top of that, with the pandemic and people looking for additional companionship, pet ownership has really skyrocketed.

“Those two things combined have created a tremendous need in the state of Utah for additional veterinarians.”

In the current agreement with Washington State, USU admits up to 30 students each year, 20 of whom must be Utah residents. Dr. White said those numbers are about to change.

“We’ll transition initially to about 45 students and then once we have all the facilities in place our plan is to transition up to 80 students,” said Dr. White. “We’ll have 80 students per class which will eventually create four classes in the college and we’ll have a total of 320 students in the college.”

Dr. White said most of us need a veterinarian to care for a family pet. But animal agriculture is a one billion dollar enterprise in Utah, which contributes to the statewide demand for veterinarians.