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Board report: Legislature should increase minority vet recruiting
By: Madiha Rizvi
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: News
A report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board stated the number of large animal veterinarians is down and recommended the State Legislature increase minority recruiting efforts.
The Associate Dean for Professional Program Kenita Rogers said minority enrollment for the Texas A&M College of Veterinary medicine depends on the application pool.
"If the relative number of individuals in the pool is small, the final outcome in the class will also be relatively small," Rogers said. "We also find this correlation to be true with gender, rural vs. high population hometowns, etc. The applicant pool is the key."
She said female enrollment has increased.
"A huge trend in the past two decades has been an increasing number of women in the profession. The current first year class has 72 percent women, and in other schools across the country, this percentage often reaches 80 to 90 percent," Roger said.
She said there are 132 first-year students. Of these students, 10 slots are reserved for out-of-state students and 122 slots are reserved for Texas residents. On average, the percentage of under-represented minority students is 10 percent to 11 percent.
Rogers said there are recruiting efforts at the local and national level for veterinary medicine.
"The biomedical sciences undergraduate program within our college has established several 2 plus 2 agreements with community colleges in the state of Texas," she said. "While they are focused on all of the health professions, this program has paid dividends in increasing minority enrollment at the University and the veterinary school."
Clinical professor of veterinary medicine Dan Posey said large animal doctors perform important functions within society.
He said large animal vets are protectors of the food supply and play a role within the supply chain. The large animal doctors are the first line of defense in terms of bioterrorism and agro-terrorism.
Dr. Steven Golla, a practicing large animal veterinarian in Lockhart, Texas, said there is a shortage of large animal
The Associate Dean for Professional Program Kenita Rogers said minority enrollment for the Texas A&M College of Veterinary medicine depends on the application pool.
"If the relative number of individuals in the pool is small, the final outcome in the class will also be relatively small," Rogers said. "We also find this correlation to be true with gender, rural vs. high population hometowns, etc. The applicant pool is the key."
She said female enrollment has increased.
"A huge trend in the past two decades has been an increasing number of women in the profession. The current first year class has 72 percent women, and in other schools across the country, this percentage often reaches 80 to 90 percent," Roger said.
She said there are 132 first-year students. Of these students, 10 slots are reserved for out-of-state students and 122 slots are reserved for Texas residents. On average, the percentage of under-represented minority students is 10 percent to 11 percent.
Rogers said there are recruiting efforts at the local and national level for veterinary medicine.
"The biomedical sciences undergraduate program within our college has established several 2 plus 2 agreements with community colleges in the state of Texas," she said. "While they are focused on all of the health professions, this program has paid dividends in increasing minority enrollment at the University and the veterinary school."
Clinical professor of veterinary medicine Dan Posey said large animal doctors perform important functions within society.
He said large animal vets are protectors of the food supply and play a role within the supply chain. The large animal doctors are the first line of defense in terms of bioterrorism and agro-terrorism.
Dr. Steven Golla, a practicing large animal veterinarian in Lockhart, Texas, said there is a shortage of large animal
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