Fiona Nouri, Royal Veterinary College

This talk is designed to get us thinking in a more holistic way about the accessibility and quality of experience for disabled and learning different students in veterinary medicine programs. UK systems for assisting disabled students will be showcased, in particular those of the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, where declaration rates of disability and differences have increased from around 3.5 percent to 20 percent of the student body over the last five years. It aims to help us think creatively about this subject, and to show that is it possible to improve both staff and student expectations and experiences, sometimes with little or no cost to the institution.

In an effort to accelerate the themes and goals of the national AAVMC agenda outlined in DiVersity Matters, the Midwest veterinary colleges,  hosted by the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State and Purdue Universities, broadened initiatives to create more inclusive veterinary educational systems.  Diverse veterinary workforce development through recruitment strategies are only one component to generating tomorrow’s veterinarians who are able to serve an ever-growing, demographically diverse society.  We must also embed strategies that impact institutional cultures as a means of expanding our competence to be more culturally flexible as our graduates address future societal issues.  Taking advantage of a synergistic approach shared across our institutions, we are engaging initiatives to create a more inclusive educational experience for our students, faculty, and staff by constructing primary strategies that infuse diversity into the curriculum, student affairs, communications, and other impact practices. We expect our learning environments, pedagogies, and interactions to be reflective of building institutional capacity and graduating new professionals with a global perspective in all areas of the educational enterprise.

 

3:20 PM – 3:40 PM  Break

 

Eleanor Green, Texas A&M University

Kenita Rogers, Texas A&M University

This presentation will highlight the purposeful integration of the importance of climate and diversity at all levels at Texas A&M University, specifically organizational structure on campus and implementation into the DVM curriculum.

Philip Nelson, Western University of Health Sciences

Suzie Kovacs, Western Unviersity of Health Sciences

In the summer of 2011, a climate survey focusing on diversity issues in the workplace was sent to the administrators, faculty, and staff at all US veterinary schools and colleges.  Results of this survey will be discussed at this year’s symposium.  This information will supplement data from the student climate survey that the AAVMC released earlier that year in order to provide a comprehensive view of campus climate at veterinary schools and colleges across the country.