Construction set to begin on the new CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences veterinary complex

The new Veterinary Health and Education Complex is set to open in 2026 (Image courtesy of Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences)

Colorado State University (CSU) College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences announced that construction will begin by the end of September 2023. The $230 million state-of-the-art upgrade and expansion will expand the veterinary medicine and education facilities on CSU’s South Campus.

According to an organizational release,¹ CSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital will be the centerpiece for all the planned improvements such as a primary care clinic to assist CSU in training veterinarians while also giving the community better access to the veterinary care. Other additions include a new Livestock Veterinary Hospital to provide ambulatory, medical, and surgical facilities and adjoins the Johnson Family Equine Hospital. The Livestock Veterinary Hospital is expected to open in early 2025.

“This is a really transformative implementation,” expressed Sue VandeWoude, DVM, DACLAM, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, in the release.¹ “We’re going to add capacity we haven’t had before that will truly elevate what we can do on a day-to-day basis.”

The Veterinary Health and Education Complex (VHEC) will double the size of the already existing teaching hospital, allowing the school to admit an additional 30 students into its DVM program each year, making the class size around 170 students.¹ More veterinary students turning into veterinary professionals also will hopefully alleviate the veterinary shortage with the number of employed clinical veterinarians expected to grow by almost 20% in the next 10 years.²

The school also plans to refresh its curriculum to give students more practical hands-on training. The program will give students a minimum of 16 weeks in primary care and perform 4 times the amount of the current number of basic surgical techniques. Students will also learn through a method called team-based learning which is small and interactive groups with 40% of the curriculum using this method.

“The new clinic will allow our students to gain more confidence in the types of procedures and interactions they’re going to be called upon to do most commonly in private practice,” said VandeWoude.¹

Reference

1. Construction to begin on new, state-of-the-art veterinary complex. News release. Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science. September 18, 2023. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://cvmbs.source.colostate.edu/construction-to-begin-on-veterinary-complex/
2. Occupational Outlook Handbook, Veterinarians. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. September 6, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm