Veterinary Teaching Hospital Expansion and Renovation - An opportunity to elevate a world-class veterinary program

Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine announced the most ambitious fundraising campaign in its college history last month. The "Expanding Opportunities" campaign aims to raise $15 million to fuel excellence by renovating and expanding the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) on the Blacksburg campus.

Since its completion in 1987, the Veterinary Teaching Hospital has experienced incredible growth in cases due to the increased demands for veterinary services. To address this need, the veterinary college has plans to launch an expansion of the hospital to create modern, world-class teaching and clinical research spaces that will advance knowledge through patient care.

The Veterinary Teaching Hospital is a state-of-the-art clinical facility and an essential component for producing compassionate and skilled veterinarians each year. The teaching model in academic hospitals in both human and veterinary medicine involves small groups of students immersed in a specialty for weeks at a time. This model for experiential learning creates a need for physical space in addition to a patient treatment area with appropriate equipment for each specialty.
 
Veterinarians not only support the health of our beloved pets and companions, but they also address significant challenges such as food security, the transmission of diseases from animals to humans, and research into new therapies to fight cancer. The expansion will also further boost research with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities and help attract the brightest scholars and educators who can tackle global problems head-on.

The teaching hospital provides outstanding animal health care to the region. It builds the future of the veterinary profession through hands-on training of residents, interns and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) students. But since the college's inception, the DVM student class size has grown - from 64 to 126, and veterinary medicine itself has significantly changed over those 40 years. Nine new specialty services have been added, and technology has dramatically advanced to provide additional diagnosis tools, solutions, and treatments.

With a scheduled ground-breaking in 2024 and doors opening in 2026, the VTH expansion and renovation will add 37,000 square feet, provide necessary upgrades to current facilities, and incorporate unfinished space to allow continued growth.

Philanthropic partners are needed to ensure this project can occur in a timely fashion without increasing the financial burden on future students. The overall cost of the proposed project is $45 million, with $7 million promised from Virginia Tech, $8 million in philanthropic support already promised and $15 million in loans in place. This leaves a further $15 million needed to complete the project.

This type of philanthropic support is built into the DNA of the college. The veterinary college's initial funding was piecemeal – some federal, some state, and some university funding were also supported by significant private donations.

A significant development in its founding was 50 people across the Commonwealth who came together to form the Citizens Committee for a Veterinary School (CCVS), a network to solicit support for the college. The CCVS started a letter-writing campaign to secure support for the college — this was the crowdfunding of its day.

The people of Virginia saw the value of having a veterinary college in the state and their financial support contributed to the funds necessary to start the college. Just to exist, the college had to raise funding and support for the college's mission: to lead the profession in tackling animal and public health, food safety, and infectious disease challenges.

As former Dean Schurig described, "The values of perseverance, innovation, partnership and discipline, as well as our heritage of grassroots support, became deeply forged within the organizational culture of our college."

"When we first opened the hospital, the very small Phase I portion did not have air conditioning and the pharmacy was in a tiny room with a Dutch door. The faculty was considerably smaller than it is now. All were expected to contribute significantly to all 3 of the college missions: teaching, research, and service," said Marion Ehrich, professor emerita and co-director of the Laboratory for Neurotoxicity Studies. Ehrich has been a member of the faculty since 1980.

Over the years, the college has done a lot with its resources and has celebrated many successes. Its researchers have received over $7 million in research grants. The college expanded its programs, offering an MS and Ph.D. in biomedical and veterinary sciences and a master's in public health—the first CEPH-accredited public health program to be housed in a veterinary college. In 1992, the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine was established, providing students with the skills to succeed in public or corporate practice and giving veterinarians training and resources to pursue career opportunities.

The VTH has also grown its client base and culture of dedication and attention to clients. Growth, however, means that its facilities need to change.

"Space has always been a challenge, and the challenge has increased as services, techniques, and new modalities for diagnosis and treatment have been added (e.g. imaging). Teaching hospitals should be up-to-date," said Ehrich.

"Like any medical industry, we evolve—and that means both new technology and new services. As we continue to evolve, we will continue to see new areas of interest, new technologies, new treatments, new therapies," said Terry Swecker (BS '80, DVM '84, Ph.D.' 90), director of the VTH and professor of production management medicine and clinical nutrition. "We have to create space so that students, interns, and residents can actively learn in that experiential environment."

With the aid of philanthropic partners, the college can ensure that this necessary expansion can occur on time and without increasing the financial burden on students. At this critical time of growth, the college needs grassroots support—a modern-day CCVS—to provide its students and clients with the best facilities.

The veterinary college has demonstrated a track record of success as a teaching hospital over the last 40 years and is now looking ahead and preparing for the next 40 years.

To learn more about how you can support the Veterinary Teaching Hospital Expansion and Renovation, please contact Sandra Torget, Assistant Dean of Advancement, 540-231-4716 or email storget@vt.edu.