On Feb. 15, the Rowan Board of Trustees met and approved a $42 million addition to various construction projects around campus, including the construction of a new veterinary school at Rowan. The money will also go towards repairs in student housing, Campbell Library and the Glassboro Intermediate School. 

According to the meeting minutes, “This resolution approves the addition of $42,000,000 of projects to the previously approved Project total of $132,000,000 to bring the total Project to $174,000,000.”

The meeting minutes later go on to mention a resolution that discusses the new budget specifically for the vet school. It was awarded an extra $2 million, to go towards “additional funding for preliminary development, preconstruction and construction management services for the Rowan University School of Veterinary Medicine Project,” according to the minutes. This brings the budget now to $12 million dollars.

The School of Veterinary Medicine of Rowan University is an endeavor that the university announced in 2021. It is currently in the accreditation process but is planning to have its first class of enrolled students by 2025. 

Some of the new funding announced in the meeting will go towards building the infrastructure and facilities that are necessary for the school. One of the unique features that the school will offer is a teaching hospital, where students can put what they are learning to use, and local pet owners can take their animals to receive medical care. 

“We’ll have general practice practitioners there, and cardiologists and surgeons and radiologists and all the other specialties,” said Dr. Matthew C. Edson, the Founding Dean of The School of Veterinary Medicine of Rowan University. 

The hospital will offer veterinary care, but will also have several specialists who may not be at most primary care providers.

“The specialists that would be referrals from other places that may not have an orthopedic surgeon, or a cardiologist or an oncologist, those are specialties that we’re planning to have in the hospital. So it’s not just the primary care cases, we would be seeing referral cases from other veterinary practices, who had clients that needed those referral level services,” said Edson.

There will be opportunities for vet students to work in the school’s hospital as well. This way, their students can learn, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

“We’re planning to have employment opportunities for students to work in the hospital… we’re planning to have some veterinary technician students there, and then we will likely have postgraduate internships and residencies for folks who are already done vet school and want to go into a specialty,” Edson explained.

The school is also unique in the way that it will be the only vet school in New Jersey. This allows students from all over the state to receive their education in a much more affordable and accessible way. 

“One of the things with this program is that we have access for students to programs that they wouldn’t have been able to access in New Jersey, New Jersey students before couldn’t get in-state tuition,” said Edson.

The new vet school also has plans to collaborate with other departments on campus, including a joint MBA program for students that may be interested in the veterinary business.

“One of the other strengths is that everyone at this university is willing to work together on projects like this that may not exist with that level of collaboration in other institutions. So that’s been great,” said Edson.

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