Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine holds 75th graduation ceremony

The Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine's 2024 Class with Ruby L. Perry, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVR, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Ebony Gilbreath, DVM, PhD, DACVP, associate dean for Academic Affairs

The Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM) in Alabama celebrated its class of 2024 on May 4, 2024, marking the university’s 75th graduating class of veterinarians. This year’s graduates consisted of 63 new Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree earners, whose achievements were celebrated in the Chappie James Arena during the graduate and professional schools’ formal ceremony. Following the commencement, the Veterinary Medicine Oath and Hooding Ceremony took place, where graduates took their oath as official veterinarians before friends and family.1

Continuing an annual tradition of a veterinary professional delivering the challenge address to the DVM graduates, this year’s Veterinary Medicine Oath keynote speaker, Tuskegee Veterinary alumna Carla Gartrell, DVM, JD, DACVIM, presented to the graduating class.1 In her address, Gartrell shared 3 stories that marked a visible difference in her experience as a veterinarian. She also highlighted 6 core principles, all starting with the letter ‘C’, and encouraged the graduates to follow them. The core principles were as follows:

1. Compassion – be compassionate and care deeply
2. Curiosity – stay curious and committed to life-long learning
3. Courage – be bold because you grow through what you go through
4. Community – you are a vital part of a larger community so be involved in it
5. Champion – be a champion for yourself, your patient, and others
6. Celebrate – “You have earned this moment so embrace your journey to get here and look forward to your futures,” Gartrell said.

Ruby L. Perry, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVR, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and professor of veterinary radiology, also spoke during the ceremony. "I am honored to have served as the dean to this Class of 2024 and it is with gladness of heart that I look forward to engaging with my colleagues as they now join me in a most distinguished group of veterinary professionals and veterinary alumni," Perry said during the oath and hooding ceremony. “The College of Veterinary Medicine family is extremely proud of each graduate, and we look forward to hearing about the accomplishments they will make as veterinary professionals, as leaders, as educators, and as researchers. They are well-equipped to make significant contributions and play vital roles in protecting and enhancing human and animal welfare as they embark on their various career paths on a journey of lifelong learning beyond the DVM degree. Congratulations Class of 2024!"

One of two accredited veterinary programs in Alabama, TUCVM is the sole veterinary medical professional program whose location lies on the campus of a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the United States. It has now granted more than 3000 veterinary medicine degrees since its first graduating class in 1949.1

TUCVM educated over 70% of the nation’s Black veterinarians and has been recognized as the most diverse school of all colleges of veterinary medicine in the US. Its main objective is to “provide an environment that fosters a spirit of active, independent, and self-directed learning, intellectual curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, ethics, and leadership; and promotes teaching, research, and service in veterinary medicine and related disciplines.”1

Reference

63 Doctors of Veterinary Medicine recognized during Tuskegee University 2024 spring commencement, oath and hooding ceremony. News release. Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine. May 20, 2024. Accessed May 22, 2024.https://www.tuskegee.edu/news/63-doctors-of-veterinary-medicine-recognized-during-tuskegee-university-2024-spring-commencement-oath-and-hooding-ceremony