Murray State University took yet another step Friday toward establishing what would be the first veterinary college in Kentucky.
In the wake of the Council on Postsecondary Education approving the school’s Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program in January, MSU’s Board of Regents formally voted during its winter quarterly meeting to create the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The program still has a long way to go before it can start accepting students, though. The next major step for the university is to secure accreditation for the college through the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
Dr. Laura Hoffman, the dean appointed to lead the proposed college, said university officials sent a letter to the AVMA Council on Education to request an on-site consultation immediately after the school received CPE approval.
Hoffman said that, once the AVMA meets in March, the university should be informed of the date that in-person consultation – which officially kicks off the multi-year accreditation process – can begin. After the consultation, MSU must then submit a self-study, which has already been in the works for several months.
Once that self-study is turned in to the AVMA, the veterinary group would then provide a detailed report suggesting improvements for the university’s DVM program and discuss it during a comprehensive site visit. Afterwards, the university would need to receive a Letter of Reasonable Assurance from the AVMA in order to begin recruiting the initial cohort of students to the program. Once those students begin classes, the College of Veterinary Medicine would obtain provisional accreditation lasting for five years.
If Murray State is granted that provisional accreditation, the CPE said the first cohort of students seeking veterinary medicine degrees could be admitted to the western Kentucky university as early as fall 2028.
Other business
President Ron Patterson also addressed happenings in the state legislature, particularly a measure that would allow universities to lay off tenured faculty members for financial reasons. Patterson said that he does not support Kentucky House Bill 490 and indicated that he thought the measure would make it “more difficult to recruit high quality faculty” to MSU.
The Board of Regents approved a new, four-year contract for Athletics Director Nico Yantko. It begins in July and includes an 8% raise in salary. Patterson said the board’s decision to extend Yantko’s contract, and offer him more money, was a market-driven one. The president said Yantko had received job offers from several prominent universities, such as Stanford, New Mexico and Syracuse.
The board also approved a naming rights change for Studio B at the WKMS office, which will be renamed the Bruce Brockenborough Performance Studio, after a long-time donor and supporter of the station.
A number of new programs in development at Murray State were also discussed:
- MSU’s approved dental hygienist program is still in the process of accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The program will utilize building space from Southern Family Dental in Murray. It is expected to be offered in fall 2026.
- The 2+2 medical school program in partnership with the University of Louisville is still underway, though officials say the construction of a new building would be necessary. Patterson said the potential building would be between 55,000 and 60,000 square feet with an estimated cost of $60 million. Patterson said he’s pursuing funding for the program.
- The board approved the proposal of a new Bachelor’s of Science in artificial intelligence (AI). The proposed degree program would offer instruction in the development of AI tools. The program is expected to be proposed to the CPE next month.
The full Board of Regents meeting can be streamed on YouTube.
