A new endowment fund at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College will support vet students in summer placements with rural veterinarians working with livestock.
The new Bovine Education Trust has been set up by OVC and the Ontario Association of Bovine Practitioners (OABP), which launched the fund at its spring meeting last Thursday in Guelph.
“The industry needs this — and so do the students,” OABP past-president Dr. Jamie Hobson, the new trust’s co-chair, said in a release last week.
“Our goal is to nurture those student veterinarians who have a passion for food-animal production by providing additional learning opportunities to help them excel at school, so they’ll be ready to launch their careers as skilled veterinarians serving rural communities.”
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The placements will serve to assure Ontario’s beef and dairy producers of “first-class veterinary care over the long term,” OVC said.
They’ll also give students the “on-the-job experience that they need to develop successful careers serving the dairy and beef industries.”
Dr. Kerry Lissemore, OVC’s associate dean (academic), added the trust will “help students build confidence and experience” by providing for rural summer placements, extracurricular learning opportunities such as conferences, and external electives.
In the release, Lissemore and Hobson urged veterinarians, cattle producers and other industry stakeholders in food animal agriculture to give “generously” to the Bovine Education Trust.
“It’s a practical way to serve the interests of the public, producers and practitioners,” Lissemore said. “It’s also a way for veterinarians and producers to give back to the industry.”
Start-up funding for the new trust will come from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through its Veterinary Clinical Education program.
