Faculty in US veterinary schools

Article Outline

• Copyright

In an attempt to expand my editorial list and to identify individuals who may be interested in submitting manuscripts or review articles to the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, I examined the faculty profiles for each of the 25 accredited veterinary schools in the United States. I am sure I did not provide adequate time for this review, and must admit that I primarily focused on clinical science departments. It would not be truthful to say that it was an exciting or exhilarating experience, but I have to admit that it was an enlightening process.

Certain impressions were gained by this endeavor. It became obvious that some veterinary schools make it much easier to identify their faculty and learn about the faculty members' expertise than other schools. For this exercise, it was particularly useful to be able to access a short biographical sketch of each faculty member, along with a recent picture. A listing of the recent publications by each faculty member provided a good impression as to their areas of interest and expertise, as well as the journals that they prefer. In addition, I found that, in many schools, the faculty tended to be divided into two groups, older faculty members who are nearing the time of retirement and a large number of young faculty members. Not surprisingly, a high percentage of the younger faculty are women. This would correspond with the 80% female population in each veterinary class in most veterinary schools. I found the qualifications of the younger faculty members to be extremely impressive. A majority of the faculty held both DVM and PhD degrees, along with board certification. In addition, many of the faculty had been in clinical practice for several years before joining the ranks of the academicians.

It must be expected that there were also regional differences in the number of equine specialists at any given veterinary school. Those schools that are situated in areas with high horse populations appeared to have a higher number of specialists in various areas of equine medicine. More than likely, as the baby-boomer generation begins to retire from their positions, there will be a greater need for young, bright, well-trained faculty to join these departments of clinical sciences.

Although only 6 months into the editorship of JEVS, I am beginning to recognize some of the players in equine medicine. I look forward to personally meeting some of these faculty members at the upcoming veterinary meetings.