Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine earns full accreditation

AMES, IOWA - 03/29/07 - The Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine has been granted full accreditation status by the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The college was placed on limited accreditation status after a 2003 site visit and 2004 evaluation report that cited the need for upgrading the veterinary teaching hospital and animal isolation facilities. Responding with a two-phase construction project, the teaching hospital is receiving a new food animal and equine hospital to be completed in August 2008, and the small animal hospital will undergo renovation and expansion, slated for completion in 2010.

Awarded following a 2006 evaluation, the accreditation covers the complete academic program, including a new partnership program beginning in August, offered with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Developed during the past two years, the joint program allows 25 Nebraska students each year to complete their first two years of veterinary medical education at UNL, and complete their DVM education at Iowa State.

"Earning full accreditation is truly a major step in our efforts to continually improve the quality of the college, the education we provide, the facilities we have and to make Iowa State a leading center in veterinary medicine," says Dr. John U. Thomson, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State. "The progress we have made reflects the support provided by the legislature, university administration and constituents who understand the important role this college plays in meeting society's needs for the veterinary medical profession and endorse our plan for the future."