Classes begin at Midwestern University's new veterinary school in Arizona

Photo courtesy of Midwestern UniversityIn the last week of August, 102 students started classes at Midwestern University's new College of Veterinary Medicine in Glendale, Arizona. Facilities at the school include a 78,000-square-foot classroom/laboratory building on the main campus, the Animal Health Institute (a 109,000-square-foot teaching clinic), and the on-campus Equine and Bovine Center, providing large animal education.

The veterinary students join other professional healthcare students at Midwestern in medicine, dental, optometry, pharmacy and other graduate-level health programs.

“Midwestern University has strategically planned for the opening of this new college for a number of years and is committed to providing a quality educational experience for our new veterinary students. The faculty, staff, and administration of the new College of Veterinary Medicine have looked forward to the inaugural class as they join the healthcare team ready to serve the needs of our community,” says Kathleen H. Goeppinger, PhD, Midwestern's president and CEO, in a university release.

Here are some facts about Midwestern's veterinary class of 2015:

> 24 students in the class are from Arizona; 27 of the 50 U.S. states are represented.

> The majority of the class is female (88 of 102), which is consistent with other veterinary schools. The median age of the class is 24 years.

> Students expressing a preference cited 17 different areas of career interest; the most popular were small animal primary care, specialty medicine, and food animal/production medicine.

Midwestern University is a nonprofit graduate and professional school specializing in the health sciences with 10 colleges and two campuses: one in Illinois and one in Arizona. The school offers programs in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry and now veterinary medicine.