By Audrey Hanes, Photography by Melissa Donner and Submitted by Arkansas State University

Last month, Arkansas State University opened its doors to 120 future veterinarians. The inaugural class of the school’s College of Veterinary Medicine is eager to experience Arkansas’ first and only public veterinary college as the university hopes to fulfill a growing need in the state for trained animal medicine professionals.

Making History

A-State’s plans to address the growing need in Arkansas for large and small animal veterinarians have been a long time in the making.

Dr. Len Frey, the school’s senior associate dean and senior advisor for strategic initiatives, formerly executive vice chancellor for finance, administration and chief operating officer, has been involved from the early planning stages, along with a supportive team and leaders with a vision.

“First and foremost, it took an entrepreneurial spirit not always found in a university setting to make this a reality,” said Frey of how the A-State College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) came to fruition. “From the time that former President (Dr. Chuck) Welch connected us with a potential third-party partner with experience in running professional programs, including medical and veterinary programs, to the time we opened our doors two weeks ago, there have been many people involved in making this dream a reality. 

“While I served as the administrative lead for the first several years and worked with our initial consultant and hired the first dean to initiate the accreditation process, we relied on multiple deans and directors, faculty, staff across the university and practicing veterinarians to achieve initial AHECB and HLC approval. We could not have accomplished this if we had not first and foremost, improved our strategic reserves during the years before we began this journey.”

Frey says the implementation strategy for the CVM first began in 2019 and developed a great deal between then and the school’s decision to officially start the school on its own in 2022 and before building the state-of-the-art facilities that are there today. 

“I have been fortunate in a long career in higher education administration to have played a role in several significant initiatives, including bringing a college of osteopathic medicine to campus, recruiting a developer of an on-campus convention center and participating in design and development of numerous buildings,” he said. “These past two years that I have dedicated solely to the college have been the most professionally rewarding of all. I am convinced beyond doubt the establishment of the college of veterinary medicine will prove to be one of the most impactful strategic accomplishments of this university in the past many decades.”

Dr. Heidi Banse, who came to A-State from Louisiana State University to serve as the dean of the CVM, is thankful for the individuals that helped bring the program to life.

“Len Frey did a lot of that early legwork, he brought on a consultant, Jim Loyd, to ensure that it was feasible and secure those relationships and provide that additional subject matter, expertise and context, and they did a lot of the early work,” said Banse. “They hired on Glen Hoffsis in 2023, who was their founding dean for a year, and then in Feb. 2024 I was fortunate to be selected as the dean to bring the college to fruition.

“John Weale was another founding member of the team; he built out a lot of our clinical programs. Their fourth year here, our students are out in the community in practices all across Arkansas, southern Missouri, western Tennessee and beyond, and John Wheel was our associate dean of clinical relations and accreditation at that point and he helped us build our network of practices, which was so critical for our success. 

Banse says she owes a huge debt of gratitude to that founding team for getting the school off to such a successful start and for the opportunity to land at A-State herself. 

“Len stepping in that role as senior associate dean from executive vice chancellor to continue to support us and being able to grow our team and get faculty and a leadership team that understands our mission and why we’re here has been so vital,” said Banse. “Really, it’s been an amazing journey.”

Frey is also quick to thank the individuals and years of work that went into opening the doors of A-State’s CVM.

“This would not have been possible without the unwavering support of President Todd Shields (now and in his previous role as chancellor) and Interim Chancellor Calvin White (now and in his previous role of provost),” said Frey. “Of course, none of this would have been possible without Dean Banse’s guidance and direction since the day she arrived on campus. She has improved upon the initial plan at every turn, and she has led the development of a world-class curriculum, which is being delivered in purpose-designed buildings.”

In Arkansas, for Arkansas

“The addition of the college of veterinary medicine has raised the university’s profile significantly,” said Frey of how the CVM has impacted A-State. “In his comments at the recent ribbon cutting, Dr. Calvin White, interim chancellor, underscored that A-State is one of a small handful of universities across the country that has both a medical school and a veterinary college on its main campus. During the past several years, beginning with the early exploratory phase of developing the college, the university has seen a significant increase in enrollment in majors that prepare students for application for veterinary school.”

With 18 of Arkansas’ 75 counties underserved from a veterinary standpoint, A-State’s CVM is working to fill those gaps as soon as possible. Frey says that from the beginning, the goal that guided the founding team was to develop a program that created highly skilled, extremely well prepared, day-one practice-ready veterinarians.

“As a lifelong Arkansan, I wanted to contribute to making a better Arkansas,” said Frey. “It is well documented that our state is underserved by veterinarians. As a state institution of higher education, it is our role and responsibility to provide opportunities for students and to contribute to the enhancement of all aspects of life in this great state. Our college of veterinary medicine aligns perfectly with this mission.”

Banse says a main goal of the program is to meet a growing need in Arkansas and to support industries that are already important to the state.

“At its inception, it was intended to support Arkansas State University and help it grow its programs, but with the overarching goal of supporting the state of Arkansas and its veterinary needs,” said Banse. “Around the time this whole idea was coming together, there was a study that showed that Arkansas had the lowest number of veterinarians per capita for any state, and we have a lot of underserved counties, so there was a need for a veterinary school and it helped Arkansas State University. …

“I really think that this has been transformational for the state. We have 46 Arkansas students in our program and hopefully they’ll train here, they’ll stay here and they’ll continue to support our communities. That’s the largest number of Arkansas students we’ve ever trained as veterinarians, so we’re able to continue to grow that part of the profession. And the agriculture industry in Arkansas is huge, so it’s just so important for us to be able to attend to our animal health needs. It just makes sense for us to have a vet school.”

The CVM had 990 applicants for its first year, with 120 of those being selected to start classes last month.

Jonesboro native Jayke Bolen, who grew up in Northeast Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas, was one of those applicants. 

“Attending the college allows me to get a top-notch education in the same state where I plan to live and serve,” said Bolen. “Additionally, it allows in-state residents to receive in-state tuition, which will significantly reduce the financial burden of attending veterinary school.

“The college has provided many individuals with the opportunity to learn and grow in world-class facilities, supported by faculty and staff eager for their success. For me, A-State’s commitment to producing graduates prepared to practice from day one was critical in choosing where I would attend.”

Bolen’s area of interest within veterinary medicine is equine and livestock practice, particularly in rural areas of the state.

“Keeping these communities intact by providing care to those that otherwise couldn't get proper treatment for their animals is an aspect I find fulfilling,” said Bolen. “That being said, the degree plan provided by A-State will allow me to be flexible in my goals as a veterinarian, as the competency-based curriculum will prepare me to tackle numerous issues across many species.”

As the first-ever semester of the new college of veterinary medicine is under way, Bolen says he and his fellow students are enjoying the facilities and are impressed by the faculty.

“Professional school is not easy, but the faculty has done a great job of orienting students through clear expectations, support with coursework, and an inviting, encouraging environment,” he said. “Overall, I am excited to continue to work towards my goal of becoming a veterinarian.”

Hands-On Learning

From a partnership with the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society to training at new large animal facilities and a fourth year to be served out in the community, the hands-on training was a strong draw for perspective students.

“The students are really excited about the hands-on aspect of their education, and the community centered program in their fourth year is important to them,” said Banse. “With our goal of being day-one ready, especially here in Arkansas, that means mixed animal practice – dogs and cats, horses, cattle, small ruminants across all those species, and even poultry.

“To that end, for our hands-on training program, our clinical skills portion of our curriculum, we have a couple of unique experiences. One is in the second year of their studies; our students will go down to the Department of Corrections and have field experiences there, where they’re working with their dairy and beef herds to get hands-on experience.”

The second unique experience is working with horses and cows in the school’s new barns with state-of-the-art learning equipment.

“We are building a new barn on campus, both an equine barn, the Dash Goff Equine Center – Nodouble Barn, and then also a new bovine barn,” said Banse. “We have eight chutes that are manual chutes that our students can practice operating. Again, super hands-on training with cattle. I don’t know of another veterinary school here in North America or beyond that has that many chutes for cattle for student training. We say we are mixed animal, and we have the facilities to support that training of our students, and I think that’s a big point of pride for us. 

“Dr. Trey Neyland, our (teaching) assistant professor of livestock practice, is the one who designed the facility. I’ve got to give him kudos for having a vision and telling us what we need, and we’ve been able to deliver on that. I’m super excited to see students start to use those spaces.”

Neyland is in his first year at A-State; his focus is on livestock medicine, clinical education, and preparing veterinary students for careers in mixed-animal and large-animal practice.

“I helped design the flow and movement of cattle through the bovine facilities alongside Dr. Hunter Burnett and Dr. Jerica Rich from A-State’s agriculture department,” said Neyland. “Our goal was to create a facility that prioritizes animal and student safety while maximizing opportunities for hands-on teaching and access to adult cattle.”

Neyland said the bovine facility’s eight manual cattle chutes will allow them to teach students, regardless of their previous livestock experience, the fundamentals of safety and properly restraining cattle, which is an essential skill for veterinarians working with these species. 

“The facility is also designed to provide students with nearly 360-degree access to the animal while it is safely restrained,” he said. “This gives students the opportunity to develop their physical examination, diagnostic, and clinical skills in a controlled and realistic environment. The manual chutes used in the facility are manufactured by 4 Rivers Ranch Equipment.”

The A-State Large Animal Ambulatory Unit is another important aspect of the CVM’s training for well-rounded, day-one ready veterinarians.

“The A-State Large Animal Ambulatory Unit provides several important opportunities for student training,” said Neyland. “It allows some pre-veterinary students to gain valuable veterinary experience before applying to veterinary school, while also exposing them to large-animal medicine. 

“For our veterinary students, the ambulatory service will provide fourth-year students with real-world experience in mobile veterinary practice during their clinical rotations. They will have the opportunity to work with animals in the environments where they actually live while learning how to evaluate patients, communicate with producers and owners, and make clinical decisions in the field.”

Neyland says that as a large-animal veterinarian himself, he is especially passionate about helping develop veterinarians who are confident, capable and excited to serve livestock producers and rural communities.

“It is incredibly rewarding to give students skills and knowledge that they will use throughout their careers and to help prepare them to be successful from the moment they graduate,” said Neyland. “I am also a large-animal internist, so I still very much enjoy the clinical side of veterinary medicine and the opportunity to diagnose and treat livestock. Being able to combine clinical medicine with teaching is one of the things I enjoy most about my role.”

Leading the Pack

Banse comes to A-State with many years of veterinary medicine education and curriculum development under her belt. After attending Montana State University, she earned her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Washington State University, interned in large animal medicine and surgery at the University of Georgia and completed a residency in equine internal medicine while earning her PhD in veterinary biomedical sciences from Oklahoma State University; she also earned her graduate certificate in teaching in the health professions from Louisiana State University. Prior to coming to A-State, Banse was a director of education and an associate professor with tenure at Louisiana State University before serving as the school’s associate dean for educational strategy for more than two years.

“One of the things that was really helpful in preparing me for my role here (at A-State CVM) was having an educational leadership role and forming that curriculum, thinking about student needs and outcomes and the support they need to get through that curriculum,” said Banse. “Ultimately, this college of veterinary medicine is here to train students to be day-one ready. That has really kept me centered and grounded on the student experience and what they’re learning and making sure they’re well trained and ready to go.”

Banse says that when she was previously at LSU in her most recent role there, she was associate dean for educational strategy, and as part of that, oversaw the implementation of new curriculum.

“I really enjoyed trying to make change happen, trying to make something new happen, trying to build something new,” she said. “So, when this opportunity opened, it was the next step – a very big step going from a program to a whole college and all of its programs – but to me, it was the next logical step in a career, and also that it was in Arkansas. 

“When my family and I were trying to escape the Louisiana heat, we actually came up to Arkansas. One summer, we were sitting at the White River and my husband was like, ‘We really need to move there someday.’ At the time, there wasn’t a vet school, but we looked and saw they were getting a vet school, then this came open and the timing was amazing and the opportunity was incredible. We are so grateful to have landed here, because Arkansas is amazing.”

Banse says she loves what she does and is passionate about the impact of A-State’s CVM.

“What is most meaningful to me is that this is an opportunity to make a difference where it matters for Arkansas,” said Banse. “I feel like I am serving a higher purpose in that regard.”

To celebrate the opening of the school and engage the people of Jonesboro, the A-State CVM will hold a community open house on Sept.12 from 1-3 p.m. before the football game festivities. That morning, there will be an open house geared towards prospective students, and the afternoon portion will be for the community to attend. Guests will be able to do self-guided tours throughout the building, and faculty and student ambassadors will be in each area to explain what those areas are for. There will also be several family-friendly activities and demonstrations. Children are encouraged to bring any stuffed animals that are “injured” and need to be stitched back up

For more information about the Arkansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine or the open house, visit astate.edu/cvm.