AAVMC names Andrew Maccabe executive director

The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) has named Dr. Andrew Maccabe its new executive director, effective May 15. Maccabe succeeds Dr. Bennie I. Osburn, who has served as interim executive director since 2011.

Maccabe currently works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Infectious Diseases, in Atlanta, serving as a liaison to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Before his employment with the CDC, Maccabe served as associate executive director at AAVMC where he led national programs in veterinary medical education.

“I’m energized by the challenges we face and excited by the opportunities we have to advance veterinary medical education.” Maccabe said in a prepared statement. “The colleges are training the next generation of veterinarians who will lead our profession tomorrow. Thirty years from now, they’ll be practicing in ways that few of us can even imagine today.”

Maccabe and the AAVMC say they will continue to focus on challenges such as budget cuts and declining veterinary visits, along with new opportunities for veterinarians in areas such as food safety and security, animal health and welfare, public health, epidemiology, and research. The North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium (NAVMEC) and its "Roadmap for Veterinary Medical Education in the 21st Century" will also be a focus.

Maccabe began his professional career in Jefferson, Ohio, where he worked in a mixed animal veterinary medical practice with primary emphasis on dairy herd health. In 1988, he was commissioned as a public health officer in the U.S. Air Force, managing the preventive medicine activities of several Air Force installations and directing programs in occupational health, communicable disease control, food safety, and health promotion.

Maccabe received his bachelor of science and doctor of veterinary medicine degrees from The Ohio State University in 1981 and 1985, respectively. He completed his master of public health degree at Harvard University in 1995 and his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Arizona in 2002.