091919

Page 1

THURSDAY, SEPT. 19, 2019 VOLUME 94 ■ ISSUE 8

LA VIDA

SPORTS

Architecture student develops woodworking passion.

Collins ready for final year as Lady Raider.

Hispanic Heritage Month provides opportunity for unity.

OPINIONS

Follow us on social media or on our website for photo and video coverage of this weekend’s JAB Fest.

ONLINE

INDEX

PG 5

PG 7

PG 4

ONLINE

LA VIDA SPORTS OPINIONS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS SUDOKU

5 7 4 2 7 3

Tech breaking ground on vet school Tech vet school provides learning, collaboration opportunities By ADÁN RUBIO

Follow The Daily Toreador on Facebook @DailyToreador to watch a livestream of the groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19.

News Editor

Interviewing prospective faculty members is a process Loneragan said will take place soon. “In the meantime, we have to start working with our pre-vet students or students who have an interest in veterinary medicine to help them understand what the program is, what it entails,” he said. The first program Tech is introducing is a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, Loneragan said. Graduate-level programs will also be introduced with the establishment of the school. “In addition, we will look for interesting dual degrees to work with the Health Sciences Center,” he said regarding the HSC in Amarillo. “For instance, a dual DVM and master’s in public health.” Along with the possible benefits of upcoming programs for SVM students, certain facilities at the SVM could be beneficial for the learning experience as well. The School of Veterinary Medicine Amarillo Campus and the School of Veterinary Medicine Mariposa Station are the two facilities Lonergan said will provide multiple opportunities for students.

AMARILLO

¬

^

Each day, the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) comes closer to welcoming a new group of students dedicated to resolving the veterinarian shortage in West Texas. Even though certain aspects of the school are still in the planning process, the institution could provide a variety of benefits for West Texas and the Tech community. SVM Dean Guy Loneragan said the vet school is on track to welcome the first class of the SVM during the fall of 2021. “In October, when we hear that we have that first step in accreditation, we begin the admissions process, the interview process, start enrolling that first class of students, so they can begin in the fall of 2021,” he said. “All at the same time, we need to be hiring our faculty. At the moment, we have 21 faculty positions opened.”

“It will house all the faculty, all the classrooms, all of the support services that we provide for the students,” he said regarding the Amarillo Campus facility. Teaching laboratories for anatomy, pathology, surgery and other subjects along with teaching labs for learning professional skills are resources Lonergan said will be in the main facility. The School of Veterinary Medicine Mariposa Station is a separate facility Loneragan said is designed around housing cattle and horses. “That will be two and a half miles northwest,” he said regarding the Mariposa Station facility. “And it’s designed to be outside the city limits. That really will be more of a large-animal facility.” In addition to the benefits for those affiliated with the vet school, those at Tech may also benefit despite the distance between Lubbock and Amarillo.

LOCAL

MIDDLE: A rendering of the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine at Amarillo shows what the facility’s entrance will look like upon completion. The groundbreaking ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Thursday, September 19, 2019, with expected completion of the facility prior to the 2021-22 school year. Vet school rendering courtesy of Tech System Facilities Planning and Construction Graphic by Tyler Arnold

Michael Ballou, professor and chair of the Tech Department of Veterinary Science, said he expects a lot of collaboration between people at Tech and the SVM. “We look at our department as being a

link between the Amarillo campus and faculty up there to the main campus down here in Lubbock,” he said. At Tech, Ballou said a team of qualified faculty at the SVM will be needed to carry out this collaboration. “Research is much more multidisciplinary,” he said. “It takes more of a team of faculty to answer complex questions, so we’re excited about the type of faculty that the School of Veterinary Medicine are going to be able to recruit.” Attracting a lot of top-quality, new faculty members for the SVM is one goal Ballou said he hopes is reached. He said a lot of veterinarians in West Texas are excited about training students to fulfill the veterinarian shortage.

SEE VET SCHOOL, PG. 3

CAMPUS

Veterinarians discuss benefits of vet school Tech CASNR personnel promotes vet school By EMMA McSPADDEN Staff Writer

With the impending opening of the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo, one can wonder about the impact the school may have on established veterinarians in the area. “I think it’s a positive for not only Lubbock, but the South Plains and really the entire Panhandle,” Timothy Polk, a local veterinarian and member of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA) board, said. Small animal, large animal and mixed animal veterinarians are needed in the surrounding areas, Polk said. Small animals include dog, cats and some exotic animals; large animals include cattle, sheep and other farm animals; mixed animals include both. Rural Texas has a significant void in regard to veterinarians, Kynan Sturgess, a veterinarian in Hereford, member of the TVMA board and owner of one of the clinics

partnering with the new school, said. “Our whole goal with this program is to, hopefully, select a different type of student,” Sturgess said. “The schools aren’t putting out vets that are willing to go back into rural America, especially Texas.” Clinics have been trying to hire new veterinarians for years, Sturgess said. For his own clinic, he advertises job openings both in Texas and out of state but rarely receives applicants. “Very few grew up in a rural community,” Sturgess said. “They grew up in big cities.” The school is attempting to localize veterinarians not only in the surrounding areas, but also in Texas in general. In Texas, about 150 students graduate with veterinary degrees each year, Polk said. The Texas State Board of Veterinary Examiners issues about 500 to 600 licenses every year.

SEE LOCAL VETS, PG. 2

By SETH MADRY Staff Writer

With the establishment of the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine, the university is working to address the lack of rural and livestock veterinarians in West Texas and surrounding areas. To fulfill this demand for veterinarians and get prospective students interested in the vet school, the Tech College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources may act as a channel for students to learn more about vet school opportunities. CASNR Dean William Brown said the lack of veterinarians in West Texas is a bigger problem than one might think. There is a shortage of livestock veterinarians in states surrounding Texas, not just Texas, according to the Tech SVM website. “This is not just a Texas problem, this goes beyond Texas into most states,” Brown said regarding the veterinarian shortage.

The veterinary job market is expected to grow at double the rate of other professions, according to the SVM website. Texas employs the second most veterinarians in the country, yet most of the already small workforce is heading towards retirement. Potentially increasing the number of future veterinarians in the state, CASNR will provide multiple opportunities for prospective SVM students to learn more about the institution. Michael Orth, professor and chair of the Tech Animal and Food Sciences department, said the college and the AFS department have promoted the vet school in a variety of ways. He said Tech is providing future vet school students through the AFS department. Tech wanted the vet school to be in Amarillo because it is a hub where jobs such as positions at feeding pens and milk farms are located, Orth said.

SEE CASNR, PG. 2


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.