Rescuing, rehoming furry friends

TAMUK approaches Provost decision

There’s one less stray cat out on the streets tonight, thanks to the students of the Veterinary Technologist Club (VTC) and the Veterinary Technology Program (VTP) at Texas A&M University Kingsville.

Ringworms, ticks, matted hair, the VTP takes them all how they come. Each animal comes from the Kingsville Animal Control where they were either found homeless or abandoned.

Instructional Veterinarian Nurse and advisor for the VTC Tiffany Pope further explained exactly what the students do for the animals.

“The students alongside our professional staff do physical exams. So we look at all their bodies systems, take notes of anything that is abnormal, and then we also do some baseline health testing, so we take blood samples, and we test to see if they have an infection present, how their organs are performing, and we do infectious disease testing,” Pope said.

At the VTP their mission is to teach their students how to provide the best care for each animal.

“By the end of the semester, they [animals] should be as healthy as we can get them. They’ve got all of their preventive care, they’ve been spayed and neutered, and we have already done everything we can to treat them medically, and hopefully they get adopted out into new homes,” Pope said.

Once the animals are healthy, it is time for them to get adopted. This is when the VTC comes into the picture to help these fury animals find a forever home.

“The club is completely submerged into this process. We take photographs of the animals as well as write up bios and we post them on our social media, as well as word of mouth,”

VTC President Sylvia Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez explained it is important to send animals home once they have already been spayed and neutered. Since this will eventually help decrease sign up for our newsletter. Here’s a sneak peak of what you missed online.

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| Editor-in-Chief chief.editor@thesouthtexan.com

Texas A&M University-Kingsville is one step closer to filling the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs position.

On kk April 17, students, faculty and staff were notified that the university had invited four provost candidates to visit campus and give a 20-minute presentation in an open forum followed by a Q&A.

While four candidates were invited, one notified the search committee they accepted a position elsewhere. The university announced the three candidates –Dr. Royce Smith, Dr. James Palmer, and Dr. Orlando Perez. The candidates were given a tour of Javelina Nation and opportunity to speak with students and faculty on campus.

Smith was the first can-

Provost candidates visit campus Online Beat

didate to visit campus. From Montana State University, Bozeman, Smith currently serves as the outgoing Dean of Arts and Architecture and is a professor of Contemporary Art.

Smith’s April 20 presentation included his first experiences on the TAMUK campus, projects he’s helped facilitate at MSU, his openness of communication with faculty and staff, and curiosity in a presentation he titled “Turning Dreaming into Doing: Thoughts about Tomorrow’s Ready Leadership at TAMUK.”

“I think provosts, like deans, but to a greater extent, start to move a little bit further away from the specifics that inspired them to be professors in the first place. They start to advocate and support, and grow areas that are not their own, so you have to lean into listening, but you also [need] a perpetual sense of curiosity about what motivates people and to keep a laser focus on that. President Vela has that curiosity; he has that willingness to reach out the hand and to listen to what people’s sources of inspiration and passion are. I am that person, too,” Smith said.

Smith has led several initiatives at his university, including a two percent annual increase in the College of Arts and Architecture since 2016.

Palmer was the second candidate to visit campus.

Palmer serves as the provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). He made his presentation on April 27.

His presentation included the programs he helps