A bill proposed in the Kentucky House of Representatives Monday would clear the path for Murray State University to offer degrees in veterinary medicine.
House Bill 400,which has over 50 sponsors, would allow the far western Kentucky college to offer doctoral degrees required for professional practice and licensure in veterinary medicine. If the bill passes, it would allow MSU to establish Kentucky’s first veterinary school.
Rep. Richard Heath of Graves County, the Graves County Republican serving as the bill’s lead sponsor, said it’s not the first time that a veterinary school has been proposed in the Commonwealth.
“This conversation has been going on since 1950, about having a school of veterinary medicine in the state of Kentucky. And here we are again. This time, we're going to see if we can get it across the finish line,” he said.
Last summer, MSU’s Board of Regents approved the creation of a task force to study the potential of offering a veterinary medicine program in far western Kentucky. A feasibility study produced by the task force found that the college’s Hutson School of Agriculture is “perfectly positioned” to address the growing need for rural veterinarians in the Commonwealth.
In the United States, there are 32 veterinary colleges accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. While there is currently no veterinary school in the Commonwealth, Kentucky has contracts with Auburn University and Tuskegee University in Alabama for seats in their veterinary programs reserved for Kentucky residents. Auburn has 38 seats for Kentucky residents, while Tuskegee has three. Overall, around 70 students from Kentucky are accepted each year to out-of-state veterinary schools.
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Categories: Kentucky, Education, Livestock