Lincoln Memorial University welcomed its inaugural class of veterinary students this month as 96 future practitioners began tackling subjects ranging from veterinary anatomy and physiology to parasitology and medical histology. The Harrogate, Tenn., university and Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz., in August opened the nation’s 29th and 30th veterinary colleges—the first since Western University of Health Sciences started its program in 1998 in Pomona, Calif. Lincoln Memorial marked the event with a white coat ceremony Aug. 15 and the start of classes three days later. “This is another landmark achievement for our institution,” said Lincoln Memorial President B. James Dawson, MA, Ed.D. “The [veterinary college] extends LMU’s mission of service to humanity through the training of ethical doctors who will attend to the health and wellness needs of animals within rural communities, especially within the Appalachian region.” Lincoln Memorial’s Class of 2018 includes 20 men and 76 women. Exactly one-third of them are from the tri-state region of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. Virginia residents will see their home state often during the four-year journey toward a DVM degree. The college’s DeBusk Veterinary Teaching Center is located 15 miles away in Ewing, Va. Veterinary lectures are held at the Hamilton Math and Science Building on the main Harrogate campus. The college is headed by a veteran dean: Glen Hoffsis, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM. Dr. Hoffsis, who previously served in the top spot at the University of Florida and at Ohio State University, called his latest stop “an exciting adventure to lead an innovative new veterinary college.”
