Effects of accreditation on United States and Canadian veterinary college libraries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' objective was to document the effects of evolving veterinary accreditation standards on the development of currently existing accredited US and Canadian veterinary school libraries in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. METHODS: We gathered historical standards that major veterinary accreditation agencies developed with respect to libraries and library services. Historical background on college libraries, their facilities, services, and personnel via surveys, literature searches, and archival documents was also collected. We then correlated the evolving standards with each library's development. RESULTS: There was a marked correlation between the prevailing accreditation standards and library development, particularly during the post-World War II era and through the mid-1980s. These impacts-which included new and separate facilities, hiring of professional librarians, and additional open hours-affected not only the twenty new developing veterinary schools, but also the libraries of the preexisting colleges. CONCLUSIONS: Professional veterinary accrediting standards were an important influence on the evolution of veterinary school libraries, particularly during the years of major growth in the number of new veterinary colleges in the United States and Canada. In the 1990s and beyond, both libraries and accreditation standards continue to evolve in response to changes in technology, economics, publishing methods, and more. This latter is a story yet to be told.

Fifty Years in the Life of Veterinary Students.

Many changes in US veterinary colleges and their student bodies have occurred during the past 50 years. These have reflected US demographics in many ways. With these changes have come many changes in student life. The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges has played an important role in facilitating and tracking many of the changes by creating numerous opportunities for colleges to work together on issues related to admissions, diversity, and scholarly publication in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.

Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC): 50 Years of History and Service.

The mission of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) is to advance the quality of academic veterinary medicine. Founded in 1966 by the 18 US colleges of veterinary medicine and 3 Canadian colleges of veterinary medicine then in existence, the AAVMC is celebrating 50 years of public service. Initially, the AAVMC comprised the Council of Deans, the Council of Educators, and the Council of Chairs. In 1984, the tri-cameral structure was abandoned and a new governing structure with a board of directors was created. In 1997, the AAVMC was incorporated in Washington, DC and a common application service was created. Matters such as workforce issues and the cost of veterinary medical education have persisted for decades. The AAVMC is a champion of diversity in the veterinary profession and a strong advocate for One Health. The AAVMC has adopted a global perspective as more international colleges of veterinary medicine have earned COE accreditation and become members.

Changing the Face of Veterinary Medicine: Research and Clinical Developments at AAVMC Institutions.

This paper provides a 50-year overview of research and clinical advances in AAVMC member colleges in four representative fields of veterinary medicine: oncology, vaccine development, production medicine, and public health. Though emphasis is on the progress since the mid-1960s, the salient background and associated personnel in each field are also identified to the extent that their description informs more recent events. Advances in board certification and post-graduate clinical and research educational opportunities are also described.

[The influence of the Ecole Veterinaire in Lyon in Switzerland]. / Die Ausstrahlung der École Vétérinaire Royale von Lyon auf die Schweiz.

Between 1763 and 1798 at least 30 young men from the territory of today's Switzerland attended the École Vétérinaire in Lyon. Various archives provide information about their achievements at the school and their later lives. Several biographies exist. The Bernese Albrecht von Haller was particularly devoted to the idea of sending Swiss students to Lyon. He therefore contacted and corresponded with Claude Bourgelat, the founder of the École Vétérinaire in Lyon. Both Albrecht von Haller and Claude Bourgelat engaged in fighting dangerous epizootic diseases such as Contagious Pleuropneumonia or Rinderpest. They both demanded that all sick animals and animals which had contact with the sick ones should be killed.

150th anniversary of veterinary education and the veterinary profession in North America: part 3, 1970-2000.

This is one of a series of articles in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education (JVME). These articles are abridged versions of six lectures that make up an elective course on the history of the veterinary profession in North America offered at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. This third article in the series of six describes the development of the nine new colleges that opened between 1974 and 1981. The three colleges on or near campuses that also had medical schools are contrasted with those that focused predominantly on their agriculture base. Data are presented by species on the current employment patterns of veterinary graduates from colleges in the US and Ross University. Programs in public health, public policy, and corporate veterinary medicine are also described. This article closes with a description of the factors that led to the curriculum reform instituted at Cornell University in 1993.

150th anniversary of veterinary education and the veterinary profession in North America: part 2, 1940-1970.

This article is the second in a series of four to be published in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education (JVME). These articles are abridged versions of six lectures that make up an elective course on the history of the veterinary profession in North America offered at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine to students in all four years of the program. The course is built in part on a series of biographies and interviews captured in a collection at http://www.vet.cornell.edu/legacy, and complemented by a growing collection of historical and public policy blogs at http://www.veterinarylegacy.blogsite.com. This article describes the development of the veterinary profession from 1940 to 1970, with particular emphasis on World War II, the Land Grant colleges established in the mid- and late 1940s, women in veterinary medicine (1910-1970), and African-Americans (ca. 1890-1945). Though the article is somewhat Cornell-centric because the lectures were presented to Cornell students at their home institution, many events are representative of the broader American experience.

150th anniversary of veterinary education and the veterinary profession in North America: part 4, US veterinary colleges in 2011 and the distribution of their graduates.

This fourth article in an ongoing series of articles published in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education on veterinary education and the veterinary profession provides information on the colleges and schools that exist in the US in 2011. This article provides a brief description of the educational programs and recent accreditation of the veterinary schools at Western University of the Health Sciences and Ross University on the Island of St. Kitts. Without taking into consideration Caribbean colleges, the number of veterinary student positions in US colleges has increased by approximately 24% in the past decade. The number of students attending veterinary colleges is unevenly distributed across the country with many of the more populous states having fewer students per 100,000 people than less populous states. The percentage of veterinarians who reside in the state of their alma mater also varies widely with alumni from some colleges remaining in the state of the college from which they graduated (e.g., Texas A&M and the University of California at Davis) and the graduates of other colleges (e.g., Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania) being more widely distributed across the country. The location of veterinarians is also provided by state and adjusted for population and state size.

Veterinary education in South Africa: the classes of 1938 and 1939.

Concise descriptions are given of the life histories of the 10 members of the classes of 1938 and 1939. All of them initially joined the government service, Hugo, Steenekamp and Schatz spending their entire careers in the South African Veterinary (Field) Services. Mansvelt, the first recipient of the much-coveted Theiler medal, was the 2nd veterinarian to be appointed Director of Veterinary Services, a position specially created for the 'Field' in 1962. Having first established a successful private practice, Hofmeyr was appointed as the 1st full-time professor of surgery of the Onderstepoort Faculty in 1958 and its 1st full-time Dean in 1976. Albertyn opted for a career in public health, becoming director of 1 of the largest local municipal abattoirs. Turner spent virtually his entire career in private practice and was eventually joined by Brown who had served in the British Colonial Veterinary Service for many years. Fick was a government veterinarian for his entire career, first in South Africa, then in the British Colonial Service (for 13 years) and finally returning to South Africa. Like Hugo, Muller filled a senior position in veterinary (field) services before he opted for a farming career.

150th anniversary of veterinary education and the veterinary profession in North America.

This article is the first in a series of three to be published in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education (JVME). These articles are abridged versions of six lectures that make up an elective course on the history of the veterinary profession in North America offered at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine in spring 2010. The course was based in large part on an oral history collection titled "An Enduring Veterinary Legacy"(1) that captures interesting and relevant veterinary stories. The course was designed to increase awareness of the history of veterinary medicine as we approach the sesquicentennial of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in 2013 and as we join with our international colleagues in marking the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the world's first veterinary college in Lyon, France, in 2011.(2) The overarching goal of this course and the articles is to record and also to share first-person stories that describe the development of veterinary education and the veterinary profession in North America from the mid-1860s to the present. In the process, it is hoped that this history will encourage respect, love, and admiration for the veterinary profession and an appreciation of veterinary medicine as a versatile profession. The articles are somewhat Cornell-centric because the lectures on which they are based were presented to Cornell students at their home institution. However, it is hoped that the events are representative of the broader American experience. For educators interested in the course itself, a brief synopsis and a summary of student evaluations for the first year of presentation is appended here and in subsequent articles in this series.

A century of veterinary education in Cuba (1907-2007).

The development of veterinary education in Cuba has closely mirrored the political changes the nation has undergone. Veterinary studies in Cuba began in 1907, with an emphasis on clinical (individual-animal) medicine. Over time, the professional curriculum has evolved to meet the needs of the nation. Preventive medicine topics were added to the curriculum in 1959. Food-animal production was taught by a separate college until 1990. In 1991, these topics were incorporated into the professional veterinary medical curriculum, and they continue to be an area of emphasis. All veterinary colleges in Cuba follow a centrally organized, student-centered curriculum. A substantial portion of instruction is delivered at educational units, housed on livestock operations, where students participate in extensive field experiences while receiving didactic instruction. The amount of instructional time devoted to hands-on activities increases as students progress through the five-year curriculum.

Veterinary education in South Africa: the classes of 1936 & 1937.

Concise descriptions are given of the varied life histories of the students of the classes of 1936 and 1937. Consisting of 14 students, the class of 1936 was the largest of the pre-war classes of the Onderstepoort Faculty. Three of the 6 students in the 1937 class were actually repeating their final year, therefore the total number described below is 17 rather than 20. The detailed analysis of their careers reveals the presence of a remarkable degree of variation. Although all except Brookes, who apparently went directly into the newly established practice of Jack Boswell, initially joined the local government service, most of them became specialists in their disciplines. Four soon established very successful private practices. Five of the 6 who spent their entire careers in the South African Veterinary (Field) Services, finally occupied very senior positions in that division. One of them (Kluge) made a major contribution to the control of tsetse flies in this country and another (Belonje) became a specialist in equine infertility. Four of the graduates opted for a research career, 3 of them also teaching at the Faculty. Of all of these, only De Boom (Anatomy & Embryology), who was a consummate teacher, took on a fulltime position as Professor and Head of the Department when the Faculty became independent from the Onderstepoort Research Institute in 1973. De Lange (Surgery & Gynaecology), however, relinquished his professorship to become a deputy director of the Institute. Sutton became a household name to the many students who passed through his hands in Animal Management. Haig (Virology) became one of the most famous of the many researchers produced by Onderstepoort. Van der Walt showed much promise as a researcher but died at the age of only 45. Two more died before they were 35 years old. Two had sons who also became veterinarians while one's grandson followed in his grandfather's and father's footsteps.

Introductory keynote address. Theiler and the 'Spirit of Onderstepoort'.

Although Theiler became internationally known for his pioneering veterinary research a distant century ago, there are probably few veterinary researchers today who have not heard of him. Onderstepoort, the research institute he created, is equally well, if not even better, known. Moreover, the name Onderstepoort is not only associated with his institute but also with the only South African faculty of veterinary science, another Theiler 'baby'. The purpose of this presentation is to determine why this was so, and to what extent the fame was justified. Was it due to the 'Spirit of Onderstepoort' sometimes referred to by Theiler in the early as well as later stages of his career, or was there perhaps more to it, and what was Theiler's share in the development of that spirit, that fame?

History of bluetongue research at Onderstepoort.

Research on this economically important disease of ruminants, especially sheep, which had been named bluetongue by farmers in the 19th century, has been part and parcel of the activities at Onderstepoort ever since its establishment in 1908 and therefore covers a full century of the OVI's existence. In view of Onderstepoort's centenary celebration a brief overview of this research is given in terms of the historic milestones which influenced and guided global research on this and other viral diseases of animals.

Personalities that shaped the profession.

As part of the RCVS' 175th anniversary celebrations, the college's charity partner and custodian of its historical collections, RCVS Knowledge, takes a look at the influential roles four individuals played in the early formation of the profession.

2007 Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teacher. Evolution of a teacher: helping students learn.

I was honored to receive the 2007 National Carl J. Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teacher Award. This award reflects the impact that my mentors and students have had on my teaching. I have been fortunate to have dedicated mentors and wonderful students. It is through the support and guidance of colleagues and students that I have been able to grow as a teacher. My students have taught me a lot about being an effective teacher. I will share some key principles that I try to follow in my teaching. These principles can be used in any teaching situation in any discipline.

Veterinary education in South Africa: the classes of 1934 & 1935.

The Class of 1934 included 2 graduates who created milestones for the veterinary profession in South Africa. Jack Boswell was the first Onderstepoort graduate to start his own private practice without ever joining the government service. George van der Wath has the distinction of being the only South African veterinarian to become Chairman of the prestigious South African Wool Board. Ashton Tarr was President of the South African Veterinary Medical Association from 1966-1969. Concise descriptions are given of the varied life histories of the 14 members of the Classes of 1934 and 1935. All except Boswell initially joined government service, one serving mainly in the Colonial Service before eventually returning to South Africa. Three spent their entire careers in the South African Veterinary (Field) Services, finally occupying very senior positions in that division. One ended his career lecturing at a university. Lambrechts was the first veterinarian to occupy the 'resurrected' post of Director of Veterinary Services reserved for field veterinarians. Only one of the graduates opted for research, but went farming after obtaining a DVSc degree. Three spent the greater part of their careers in private practice, Thiel from as early as 1937. Two went into municipal (public health) service, one becoming director of an abattoir. Only one saw military service in World War II. Two died before they were 50 years old. Unfortunately, virtually nothing is known about Erasmus' career. At 97 Thiel holds the distinction of being the oldest Onderstepoort graduate.