College receives additional funding in state budget allowing for new faculty hires
Article by: Allison Burk
Originally Published
A supplemental line item directed to the College of Veterinary Medicine totaling $4 million in FY22 and $5 million in FY23 was signed by Governor Mike DeWine in June of 2021. The funding will allow the college to address three principal areas, including hiring and retaining top talent; enhancing the impact of our work in our land-grant mission areas of education, research, service, and outreach; and addressing and maintaining a more accessible and affordable veterinary medical education.
College leadership and department chairs have been working with faculty to create a prioritized list of additional faculty and staff positions to help maintain and build excellence in our existing programs – rather than starting new ones – to provide a more sustainable workload and enhance impact.
“The new line-item funding from the State of Ohio to the College of Veterinary Medicine is critical to the future of the college and will enable us to hire and retain top faculty and staff talent, conduct innovative and impactful make a veterinary medical education more accessible and affordable,” — Rustin Moore, DVM, PhD, DACVS, dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
“The additional faculty positions will enable us to strengthen existing programs in our land grant mission areas of education, research, service and outreach that will benefit Ohio’s citizens and their animals,” said dean Moore.
The college announced the first wave of faculty and staff positions in August and then repeated the process of reviewing, refreshing, and prioritizing its respective position requests, announcing the second wave of faculty and staff positions in December. Department chairs and unit leaders will start the recruitment process based on their individual area’s needs and timelines.
“The new positions will bring individuals with training and expertise to help us deliver excellence in teaching across all departments, allowing us to find solutions to issues impacting both veterinary and human health that are of importance to our constituents in Ohio,” said Thomas Wittum, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.
The new faculty positions will enhance each department in areas such as companion/shelter medicine, wildlife and livestock infectious disease, equine surgery, diagnostic imaging, parasitology and farm animal medicine, small animal emergency/critical care, small animal soft tissue surgery, anesthesiology, behavioral medicine, neurology/neurosurgery, One Health, small animal internal medicine and bringing on additional residents and technicians. These are in addition to seven new research-intensive faculty positions in virology/viral pathogens (n=3-4) and comparative and translational oncology (n=2-3)
There will also be additional roles for support staff and other various positions that further the development and implementation of critical phases of our strategic plan, such as the current curriculum redesign. The new curriculum will require more thoughtful assessment and coordination between various instructors and staff roles will be critical in managing that enhanced integration.
Emma Read, DVM, MVSc, DACVS, associate dean for professional programs, has been working closely with a collective group of faculty and staff to develop and implement the curriculum redesign, noting that it includes more integration between instructors, more small group teaching, more hands-on opportunities, and an earlier transition into a clinical setting.
“The new curriculum requires a different type of expertise than traditionally has been present in the college and provides new opportunities for research and collaboration that did not exist prior,” said Emma Read, DVM, MVSc, DACVS, associate dean for professional programs. “The ability to hire new faculty and staff members aids greatly in the delivery of this new curriculum to students.”
The college would like to thank everyone involved in helping secure this additional line-item funding and extend a special thanks to Governor DeWine, his administration, and members of the House and Senate, for recognizing the need and impact of investing in the future of Ohio’s only college of veterinary medicine allowing us to further our ambition to Be The Model® comprehensive college of veterinary medicine in the world.