The donations keep rolling in at the Colorado State University veterinary school, which announced a $10 million gift Tuesday toward the construction of an equine hospital. University President Tony Frank, DVM, Ph.D., called the contribution from the Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation “a monumental step forward for equine veterinary medicine at Colorado State.” The cash infusion is part of $75.9 million that the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science has raised or received commitments for over the past year. The university reported a record $172 million in fundraising overall. The veterinary school’s portion spiked upon a $42.5 million pledge in December 2014 from philanthropists John and Leslie Malone. The money and matching funds will be used to construct the Institute for Biologic Translational Therapies. The new $10 million gift is seed money for what will become the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Family Equine Hospital. The $47 million hospital, once constructed on the South Medical Campus, will include: A high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scanner “for use in standing patients, without general anesthesia, for accurate and low-stress diagnosis of disease and injury in the head and neck,” according to the university. Access to a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner at an adjacent research facility. Eight isolation stalls. The 180,000-square-foot facility is expected to house 27 equine clinicians and about 4,000 patients a year. A groundbreaking date has not been set pending more donations. The Johnson Foundation has partnered with Colorado State for more than 20 years. “We have long valued the institution’s national leadership in veterinary research, treatment and education,” said Lynn Campion, the Johnsons’ granddaughter and chairwoman of the foundation’s board of trustees. “We’re honored to help further CSU’s admirable mission by supporting construction of this new equine hospital that will deliver cutting-edge equine research and treatment.” Equine clinical services are now provided at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The offerings at the Johnson Family Equine Hospital will include critical care, sports medicine and rehabilitation, and advanced diagnostics and surgery. “Put together in our new hospital, these services will offer among the most advanced care available for horses, and our facilities will optimize all of our equine veterinary teaching and operations,” said Christopher Kawcak, DVM, Ph.D., a professor of orthopedics and director of Equine Clinical Services.
