AAVMC partners with Zoetis for veterinary scholarship program

This year, 452 second- and third-year veterinary students received $2,000 grants from the Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholarship Program. The program, which issued nearly $1 million in academic aid for this year’s recipients, has grown considerably since distribution of the 288 grants provided in 2013.

This year Zoetis partnered with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) to administer the program, ending its relationship with its previous partner the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF). Marketing and engagment coordinator with AVMF, Brittany Coleman, told dvm360 Zoetis decided to move in another direction with the program. An AAVMC release says Zoetis chose to partner with the AAVMC because of its proximity to the students and administrators involved in the program.

“Zoetis makes a major contribution to the future success of veterinary medicine by providing financial resources for our students through this scholarship program, and we’re pleased to be able to join with them as a partner,” says Kent Hoblet, DVM, president of the AAVMC and dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University.

Grants are awarded to veterinary students at accredited schools in the United States and Caribbean based on academic excellence and financial need but also to address what Zoetis says are deficiencies in the veterinary profession such as diversity, sustainability, leadership and the fostering of diverse careers paths in veterinary medicine. Zoetis says it’s provided more than $3.6 million to more than 1,100 veterinary students since the program began five years ago.

“We think supporting new generations of veterinarians is a strategic way to invest in the future of the profession, and the AAVMC is well-positioned to help us do that,” says Vanessa Mariani, a director with Zoetis’s cattle and equine division.

The application period for the scholarships runs from Oct. 1 through the Sunday after Thanksgiving every year. Award distributions are made the following April. To learn more or apply for the scholarship, go to zoetisus.com.