Arkansas’s first veterinary college to welcome first class in early August

A-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is Arkansas’s first veterinary college

By the Arkansas Delta Informer Staff

June 30, 2027 – After receiving its accreditation approval earlier this year, the state’s first veterinary medicine school will welcome its inaugural class next month.

The College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) at Arkansas State University will welcome its first class of students to the Jonesboro campus on Thursday, Aug. 6, with classes beginning nearly a week later, on Wednesday, Aug. 12.  

A-State officials have scheduled a grand opening and ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11. In attendance will be members of the school’s new veterinary faculty staff, ASU System President Todd Shields, interim Chancellor Calvin White Jr., and dignitaries and visitors.

“This is a transformational day for Arkansas State University. After years of planning and preparation, we are welcoming students into a program that will strengthen our university, expand opportunities for Arkansans and help address a critical workforce need across our state and region,” White said.

“This is a defining moment for the CVM, following years of dreaming and planning, as it becomes a reality. With this watershed moment, A-State is progressing into a new era of educational excellence, community involvement, and future growth,” he said.

Shields, who began his tenure as the fourth president of the ASU System on July 1, said he has been working on this project since joining the university as chancellor of A-State’s flagship university in Jonesboro in 2022.  
 

“What makes this accomplishment especially meaningful is that every decision was made with the goal of creating a program that serves students, meets workforce needs and highlights the unique strengths of Arkansas State University,” said Shields. 
 

Dr. Heidi Banse, dean of the state’s first veterinary medicine school, said the CVM team is ready to get started educating its first class of students. She said the final details of the building are currently being completed, and faculty will move into the space ahead of the grand opening. Barns built for the CVM were completed this summer.  
 

“We are thrilled with our progress to date in development of our program and are looking forward to training students to be practice-ready and contribute to the veterinary workforce in Arkansas, the Mid-South and beyond,” Banse said. “Our amazing team has been working tirelessly over the past two years to prepare our programs and our curriculum to be ready for our current and future students.” 

In June, the Arkansas State University System Board of Trustees approved a combined $402.6 million operating budget for 2026-2027, including a 4% tuition increase at the system’s flagship campus in Jonesboro.

The system’s overall budget reflects investments in employee retention and recruitment, the addition of the College of Veterinary Medicine, and increased costs for utilities and insurance, officials said.

According to Banse, A-State officials have spent the past several years building a solid foundation for their competency-based veterinary education model to prepare future Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students to become well-trained professionals upon graduation. Part of that is providing superior educational opportunities.  
 
“We will have 19 faculty members on-site to deliver our year-one curriculum, and another 15 faculty will be hired over the next 12 months,” Banse added. “Our ambulatory service continues to grow, providing large animal services to the community. We look forward to developing additional clinical services to support the community as we move forward.” 

A-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is Arkansas’s first veterinary college and received its Letter of Reasonable Assurance from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education in April.

The new CVM building is a 56,000-square-foot custom-built space, intentionally designed to support hands-on student learning in a competency-based veterinary curriculum. 

The Arkansas State University System, based in Little Rock, serves almost 39,000 students annually on campuses in Arkansas and Queretaro, Mexico, and globally online. Henderson State University in Arkadelphia became the system’s second four-year institution member in February 2021.

The system’s two-year college institutions include ASU-Beebe, with additional campuses in Heber Springs and Searcy; ASU-Newport, with additional campuses in Jonesboro and Marked Tree; ASU-Mountain Home; ASU Mid-South in West Memphis; and ASU Three Rivers in Malvern.