Council for International Veterinary Medical Education Established
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Embracing an opportunity to help advance the quality of global academic veterinary medicine, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) has established a new Council of International Veterinary Medical Education (CIVME).
AAVMC President Dr. Eleanor Green, the Carl B. King dean of veterinary medicine at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences announced the council’s creation during the AAVMC’s recent 50th Anniversary Gala Celebration in Washington, D.C.
“Our responsibilities in this area have been growing since 2005, when the Council on Education began accrediting international schools,” Green said. “We have an obligation to inspire higher standards of academic veterinary medicine around the world. And, it’s an obligation we embrace with a great sense of duty and purpose.”
The profession of veterinary medicine is playing an enormous role in global food production, food security, and public health, and that role will continue to grow in the decades ahead. CIVME hopes to boost the capacity of the profession to provide needed services by enhancing the worldwide quality of academic veterinary medicine.
The Council of International Veterinary Medical Education includes representation from different regions of the world. The goal is to create a structure that will promote more robust collaboration and communication, share best practices and advancements and diffuse innovation in academic veterinary medicine.
The council will facilitate collaboration among educational researchers through the provision of small seed grants and, where appropriate, make recommendations to the AAVMC and other organizations for funding larger initiatives.
The council includes one member and one alternate member from seven different geographic sectors: the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Latin America/Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Canada, and the United States.
The charter meeting of the council occurred during the March 2016 annual conference of the AAVMC in Washington, D.C. There, representatives held a daylong meeting focused on the development of initial strategies and operations.
Planning for the initiative began when the AAVMC board established a Task Force on International Engagement in July 2014. Chaired by Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University Dean Dr. Deborah Kochevar, that group was asked to develop a potential organizational structure, identify and prioritize global regions for engagement, and explore strategies for working with educators in these regions.
More information about CIVME is available on the AAVMC website.
The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) is a nonprofit membership organization working to protect and improve the health and welfare of animals, people and the environment around the world by advancing academic veterinary medicine. Members include 49 accredited veterinary medical colleges in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
