The Birth of the AAVMC
It was the 60’s: Vietnam, civil rights, protests and social change. America was rising to President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon. Pets were becoming a fixture of modern family life, and veterinary medicine was coming into its own. The founding of the AAVMC in 1966 proved to be a defining moment in the history of academic veterinary medicine.
Fifty years later, our member institutions help form the foundation of a healthy society. The purpose of our 50th Anniversary Celebration is much more than the celebration of an important milestone. It is to illuminate the critical role that academic veterinary medicine plays in the modern world.
The AAVMC Today
Today, the AAVMC is an agile, dynamic organization providing the 21st century leadership academic veterinary medicine needs. Focused, streamlined, and collaborative, the AAVMC is devoted to its action agenda: Analyze, Catalyze and Advocate.
Programs help achieve educational excellence, recruit high-quality professionals, enhance diversity in the profession, promote One Health, advance scientific research, advocate for public support, and foster leadership. AAVMC staff and volunteers work hard everyday to make sure the organization rises to meet the challenge of its tagline: The Future of Veterinary Medicine.
The 50th Anniversary Celebration
The purpose of the AAVMC’s 50th Anniversary Celebration is much more than an effort to commemorate this important milestone; it is to illuminate the critical role that academic veterinary medicine plays in the modern world.
An AAVMC 50th Anniversary Committee was formed in Fall 2013. The group decided to mount a yearlong celebration leading up to the March 2016 meeting—the 50th year of service (1966-2016). The AAVMC has developed a series of communication products and special events designed to help member institutions embrace the celebration at the grassroots level and build public awareness and support throughout their service regions.
The AAVMC’s 50th Anniversary Celebration concluded with an epic annual conference and Gala Celebration centered around the theme of “Fifty and Forward.”
A six-minute video profile of the AAVMC and a television PSA have been produced. Throughout the anniversary year, deans will present the video and profile their institutions for state VMA’s, agricultural commodity organizations, university and community audiences and other groups. Communication officers will place the PSA with statewide television stations. Resolutions of recognition and support from state and federal government and major allied organizations will formally commemorate the anniversary year.
A special 50th anniversary edition of the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education in Fall 2015 will examine the AAVMC’s 50-year body of work from a more scholarly perspective. And noted veterinary medical historian and former Cornell Dean Dr. Don Smith will author a history book. Those publication covers will feature a painting specially commissioned for the anniversary.
And finally, federal government and corporate leaders will join the AAVMC in March 2016 for a Washington, D.C. Gala Celebration that will feature the announcement of a Grand Initiative, a transformational project conceived to help our colleges and our profession build momentum for the future.
50th Anniversary PSA
A fast-paced 30-second broadcast PSA customizable for local institutions designed for placement in major commercial television markets. Schools are asked to insert their school name, logo and website and logo on white or black during final three seconds. Schools may wish to include their founding date to avoid confusion about 50th anniversary date. We need local college officials to market this PSA to major commercial television stations in your state.
What we’re doing from AAVMC headquarters in Washington, D.C.
- Making this :30 spot available to all member institutions
- Presenting the spot to allied organizations and other stakeholder groups as feature example
What you can do in your region
- We need you to market this to major commercial stations in your state as a PSA promoting academic veterinary medicine and your school
- Your university has the television production resources to localize this spot for you
Anniversary Action Agenda
The goal of the AAVMC’s 50th anniversary celebration is to celebrate achievement and develop broader understanding, appreciation and support for academic veterinary medicine – locally, nationally and internationally.
The AAVMC has created a portfolio of anniversary communications and programs that can be used at the member institutional level to build stakeholder appreciation for our colleges and schools. Everything has been designed for deans and other staff-members to tie the celebration into their individual institutions.
Please! We need the communications professionals in our member institutions to provide the leadership their colleges need in order to make the most of this celebration!
The following summary will help you learn more about the materials that are available, how we are using them at the national and international level, and how we hope you will use them at the local level.
Communications Collateral
A compelling six-and-a-half minute profile of the AAVMC and modern academic veterinary medicine.
A fast-paced 30-second broadcast PSA customizable for local institutions designed for placement in major commercial television markets. Schools are asked to insert their school name, logo and website and logo on white or black during final three seconds. Schools may wish to include their founding date to avoid confusion about 50th anniversary date. We need local college officials to market this PSA to major commercial television stations in your state.
50th Anniversary Print and Digital Collateral
A variety of promotional ads in various sizes and configurations have been created for placement in print and electronic publications.
50th Anniversary PowerPoint Slide
A promotional PowerPoint slide that can be used in a variety of organizational and individual presentations.
This attractive brochure outlines the history of the AAVMC as well as the scope and major components of the celebration.
50th Anniversary Resolution Template
A resolution template describing the impact of academic veterinary medicine, the AAVMC’s anniversary, and the contributions our members make in their own states and regions adaptable for a variety of programs. Once you have acquired this recognition from stakeholder organizations, you can generate news about it through owned and earned channels.
The anniversary Facebook page will feature anniversary celebration news, collect and showcase information about what our member institutions are doing at the local level to advance the celebration. Members are invited to Tweet and leverage other social platforms as well.
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