April 01, 2020

Arkansas State University announced an exploratory partnership with Adtalem Global Education Inc., which operates several for-profit higher-education institutions, to potentially create the state’s only veterinary college.

Kelly Damphousse, PhD, the chancellor at ASU, announced the partnership and a 180-day feasibility study in late January.

“The demand for veterinarians is significant as more households enjoy pet ownership, and Arkansas livestock producers have acknowledged a shortage of veterinarians for large animals,” Dr. Damphousse said in a press release. “This is a concern that our College of Agriculture faculty and others across the region have expressed to us. I am excited to begin the discussion on our campus. We plan to work closely with veterinarians throughout Arkansas as we move forward in the development of this new college.”

The veterinary college would likely enroll about 120 students per year and seek accreditation from the AVMA Council on Education. Adtalem, which is also the parent company of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in Basseterre, St. Kitts, would provide capital and operating expense funding to the school.

Donald Kennedy, PhD, interim dean of the ag college and professor of animal science, told JAVMA News that the 180-day period will allow the university to explore how the public-private partnership would work. He said Arkansas will use the experience and expertise of Adtalem in veterinary program management and accreditation, but accreditation would be sought by the university, and the proposed veterinary college would be located on the Arkansas campus in Jonesboro. Graduates of the program would have Arkansas State academic credentials.

“Veterinary schools are expensive to start and operate,” Dr. Kennedy said. “This private partnership model gives us the opportunity to overcome the startup costs. We can leverage the assets we can bring to the table. We’ve made a great relationship so far with our consultants at Adtalem.”

Adtalem, the former DeVry Education Group Inc., renamed itself in 2017 after DeVry University paid out $100 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it misled students about their post-graduation job prospects. Adtalem divested DeVry University to Cogswell Education in late 2018. The company now has more than nine institutions and companies under its umbrella.

Dr. Damphousse also announced the creation of a veterinary college task force that will determine the feasibility of the veterinary college. Dr. Kennedy is the task force chair.

“From practical experience, we know the need exists for more veterinarians, especially large animal practitioners, across our region and state,” Dr. Kennedy said in the press release. “With the current resources that Arkansas can bring to this process, we believe we can have a tremendous positive impact for the veterinarian profession and our agricultural industry.”

The Arkansas Farm Bureau, an organization of 190,000 farmers and ranchers, came out in support of a veterinary college in the state and recently released an annual report that highlighted a need for large animal veterinarians in the area.

The state has six designated veterinarian shortage situations, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Three positions are with the Arkansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Little Rock; the others are for food animal private practitioners located near Ash Flat, Jasper, and Prescott.

“I want to stress that we are at the beginning stages,” Dr. Damphousse said. “Along with chairing our task force, I have asked Dr. Kennedy to assist with selection of participants and request that they return with a recommendation later this year.”

Arkansas does not have a veterinary school in-state. However, contracts have been negotiated through the Board of Control for Southern Regional Education for nine seats at Louisiana State University. Arrangements have also been made with the University of Missouri and Oklahoma State University.

Arkansas previously explored creating a veterinary program nearly a decade ago. In 2011, the Arkansas state legislature passed a bill that authorized the Southern Arkansas University board of trustees to design and establish a school of veterinary medicine; it did not appropriate any money. The same year, state lawmakers approved the Out-of-State Veterinary Medical Education Loan Repayment Program. It was meant to assist with repayment of federal student loans for up to five years for eligible veterinarians who attended Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine and practice food supply veterinary medicine within Arkansas. However, this program is not currently funded.