The American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education has awarded full accreditation to the two newest colleges of veterinary medicine.
Both Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, and Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona, opened in the fall of 2014 and until recently were operating under provisional accreditation.
“This achievement is a testament to the collaborative work of the students, faculty and staff, LMU administration and clinical partners in developing an innovative, high-quality, practical-based and student-centered program that graduates confident, career-ready veterinarians,” said Lincoln Memorial’s dean, Jason Johnson, DVM, MS, DACT.
Midwestern’s dean, Thomas K. Graves, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM, also was quick to spread the credit.
“It is an incredibly good feeling to accomplish something this difficult,” Dr. Graves said. “It was a true team effort and a very rewarding one.”
Both deans said accreditation was just one step in their colleges’ development.
“While this is an incredible milestone, we are not going to stop here,” Dr. Johnson said. “We will continue to develop innovative programs and partner with organizations around the world to give students the opportunity to be exposed to the most remarkable curated hands-on learning experiences within the veterinary industry.”
Said Dr. Graves: “We look forward to continuing our growth with a full focus on program quality.”
Lincoln Memorial and Midwestern are among 30 colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States. In the planning stage are programs at the University of Arizona, Texas Tech University and Long Island University.
The Council on Education has scheduled site visits for April 14 to 18 at Texas Tech and May 12 to 16 at the University of Arizona.