New veterinary school planned for Arizona

Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz., announced recently that the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education has issued formal approval for the university to open Arizona's first veterinary school.

Kathleen H. Goeppinger, PhD, president and CEO of Midwestern University, a private, for-profit entity with another campus in Illinois, says the school is proud to bring the degree to Arizona.

The school is in the process of receiving accreditation from two other organizations — the Higher Learning Commission and the AVMA, Goeppinger told dvm360.

This isn't the only new veterinary school in the works. Buffalo, N.Y., is making plans for a new veterinary school to open at the site of a former human hospital. Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., is seeking accreditation and the University of Arizona, Tucson, is researching the possibility of opening a veterinary school.

Karen Felsted, CPA, MS, DVM, CVPM, says that the opening of more veterinary schools is a clear concern—at least in the short term—because there are many people who feel that more companion animal veterinarians aren't needed. "The harder question is what the long run is going to look like," Felsted says. "I don't have a crystal ball. We can't just look at pet ownership and population growth because there are other factors as well. Fewer people are taking pets to the veterinarian and more of them are buying drugs outside the veterinary channel."

Felsted says there's a need for veterinarians in some pockets of the country, but, overall, companion animal veterinarians are at capacity.