Utah State gains approval for new vet school collaboration

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — The Utah Board of Regents voted in favor of the creation of a new veterinary program collaboration at Utah State University (USU) Dec. 9.

The program would allow veterinary students to complete the first two years of their DVM program in Logan and finish their studies at Washington State University's veterinary college in Pullman, Wash.

The proposal for the program now is in the hands of state lawmakers, who have been asked to earmark $2.1 million for the first year of the program and $1.7 million for subsequent years.

USU now reportedly offers the largest undergraduate pre-veterinary program in the state, and college spokesperson John DeVilbiss says the new collaboration would allow those students to continue their studies in Utah a little bit longer.

The Utah Veterinary Medical Association supports the new program, DeVilbiss adds, saying it would more than triple the access to a DVM program for Utah residents from six to 20 openings per year.