By Justin Sayers | Arizona Daily Star
The University of Arizona has received the green light from the American Veterinary Medical Association to open its long-awaited College of Veterinary Medicine in Oro Valley.
On the UA’s third attempt for accreditation, the AVMA Council on Wednesday sent the school a letter of reasonable assurance, which allows the UA to begin enrolling students in the state’s first public veterinary medicine college.
The university will be eligible for a provisional accreditation once the first class of students is enrolled, and for a full accreditation once they graduate. The first class is expected to enroll in fall 2020 and graduate in 2023.
“We’re really ecstatic to be at this milestone,” College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Julie Funk told the Star on Thursday. “We’re so excited about the future of this college and the benefits it will bring to the state of Arizona.”
The accreditation decision comes four years after former UA president Ann Weaver Hart announced plans to open the college in the university-owned Hanley Building near North Oracle Road and North First Avenue. State lawmakers approved $8 million to retrofit the site.
While Midwestern University, a private college in Glendale, has a similar program, UA’s veterinary medicine program marks the first public veterinary school in the state.
