JONESBORO, Ark. – The Arkansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine is crossing another milestone as it prepares to open its doors and welcome the first class of students next month with a grand opening event on August. 11.
“We are delighted to welcome our inaugural class to campus for orientation starting Aug. 6 with class beginning Aug. 12,” said Dr. Heidi Banse, dean of the CVM.
Ahead of the start of classes, a grand opening and ribbon-cutting will be held for the much-anticipated building. The event will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 11. In attendance will be the ASU System Board of Trustees, ASU System President Todd Shields, A-State Interim Chancellor Calvin White Jr., and members of the CVM team.
“This is a transformational day for Arkansas State University,” White said. “After years of planning and preparation, we are welcoming students into a program that will strengthen our university, expand opportunities for Arkansans and help address a critical workforce need across our state and region.”
Shields has been working on this project since joining the university as A-State chancellor in 2022.
“What makes this accomplishment especially meaningful is that every decision was made with the goal of creating a program that serves students, meets workforce needs and highlights the unique strengths of Arkansas State,” Shields said.
Dr. Len Frey, senior associate dean for the CVM, has been part of this project for nearly a decade.
“During the time in which I have been affiliated with A-State, the creation of the College of Veterinary Medicine is the single most significant strategic initiative that Arkansas State University has undertaken,” added Frey, senior adviser for strategic initiatives. “It is one of the most entrepreneurial strategic decisions we have ever made as an institution.”
Banse said the CVM team is ready to get started in educating their first class of students. The final details of the building are being completed, and the CVM team will move into the space ahead of the grand opening. Barns built for the CVM for training were completed this summer.
“We are thrilled with our progress to date in development of our program and are looking forward to training students to be practice-ready and contribute to the veterinary workforce in Arkansas, the Mid-South and beyond,” Banse said. “Our amazing team has been working tirelessly over the past two years to prepare our programs and our curriculum to be ready for our current and future students.
“We will have 19 faculty members on-site to deliver our year-one curriculum, and another 15 faculty will be hired over the next 12 months,” Banse added. “Our ambulatory service continues to grow, providing large animal services to the community. We look forward to developing additional clinical services to support the community as we move forward.”
The CVM building is 56,000 square feet of custom-built space, intentionally constructed to support hands-on student learning in a competency-based veterinary curriculum.