FROM THE DEAN

The 2022 year brought continued excellence, sharp innovation, and preparation for change to the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS).

The school’s continued excellence in veterinary education stretched across the state from our Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach (VERO) program on the West Texas A&M University campus in Canyon to the VMBS campus in College Station.

In Canyon, VERO completed its inaugural year of the VMBS Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) 2+2 program and enrolled its second class of DVM 2+2 students. Thirty-nine veterinary students from the DVM Class of 2022 also completed fourthyear clinical rotations that were launched at VERO in 2020-2021, with 45 additional students from the DVM Class of 2023 completing clinical rotations there as part of their fourth-year experience in 2021-2022.

In College Station, the VMBS continued our tradition of transformational education with our more than 900 graduate and professional students. Our DVM students had a 99% pass rate for the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination, an even more impressive achievement when compared to the national pass rate of 92%.

In addition to achieving educational excellence, the VMBS continues to provide exceptional compassionate care in both the large and small animal teaching hospitals. Our university leadership both recognized and committed to further supporting our compassionate care mission with President M. Katherine Banks’ announcement of a new, next-generation small animal teaching and research hospital.

The VMBS also made important strides in implementing innovative practices that benefit the health outcomes of both animals and human beings.

The Texas A&M Superfund Research Center trained staff and students in disaster response and played a role in increasing local COVID-19 vaccination rates. The Superfund Center also received a five-year renewal of its funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health.

The Veterinary Emergency Team also played an important role in supporting disaster relief. The VET deployed three times in 2022, including providing veterinary care as part of Operation Border Health, in response to the Eastland County wildfires, and in support of Hurricane Ian in Florida, which became the team’s first East Cost deployment.

Our continued commitment to making the VMBS an outstanding place to learn and work was recognized on the national level with a Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award; the VMBS is one of only two veterinary schools in the nation to be recognized six years in a row with this honor.

In addition to being a year full of successes, 2022 was also a year of change for the VMBS as we carried out and prepared for the ambitious administrative reorganization of Texas A&M University called the Path Forward.

Efforts for the Path Forward are ongoing, but the preparation for these changes began in fiscal year 2022. The results of these efforts—which included our undergraduate Biomedical Sciences program moving to the new College of Arts & Sciences—will be reflected in the VMBS’ 2023 Annual Report, though some changes, such as the change of our name from College to School, are evident now.

Looking back at our efforts in 2022 has reminded me that our school comprises remarkable people who do extraordinary work. I hope you share this sentiment as you look through the 2022 annual report.

JOHN R. AUGUST

Carl B. King Dean, School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences