Four months after its inaugural meeting sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health, the Consortium of Western Regional Colleges of Veterinary Medicine announced today that it has established a new Teaching Academy to identify, share and leverage expertise across the five colleges in the Consortium. The Teaching Academy will support the development and implementation of best practices and scholarship in veterinary medical education.
 
The Teaching Academy is the first example of how members of the Consortium, which includes Colorado State University, Oregon State University, Western University of Health Sciences, Washington State University and University of California at Davis, are making progress toward the group’s goal to collaborate in the advancement of initiatives critical to the future of the veterinary profession.
 
Pfizer Animal Health and each Consortium-participating college of veterinary medicine (CVM) will contribute $10,000 to jump-start the Teaching Academy’s operating budget.
 
Ten members, two from each member-college, will make up the Steering Committee for the Teaching Academy. They will meet during the second quarter of 2012 to complete governance design, identify strategic tasks and initial projects and assign working groups for each task.
 
The appointed members of the Steering Committee are: Dr. Peter Hellyer and Dr. Ray Whalen (Colorado State University), Dr. Sue Tornquist and Dr. Terri Clark (Oregon State University), Dr. Peggy Schmidt and Dr. John Tegzes (Western University of Health Sciences), Dr. Steve Hines and Dr. Leslie Sprunger (Washington State University), and Dr. Jan Ilkiw and Dr. Johanna (Joie) Watson (UC Davis).
 
The Consortium stated that the development of the Teaching Academy is a clear demonstration of the action-oriented collaboration the group has produced. Furthermore, the appointment of dedicated, diverse, passionate individuals to the Steering Committee has already created a strong sense of ownership, pride and personal accountability to achieving tangible goals toward educational excellence.
 
Goals for the Teaching Academy include:

“Through the support of the Consortium members and Pfizer Animal Health, the Steering Committee of the newly created Teaching Academy will ensure that participation is rewarding and deliverables are relevant and enduring to Consortium members and all CVMs,” said Vanessa Mariani, Director Academic & Professional Affairs, Pfizer Animal Health U.S. “We remain committed to this initiative of productive collaboration and rapid action to effectively address the needs of the profession with tangible and meaningful outcomes.”
 
The Consortium of Western Regional Colleges of Veterinary Medicine will reconvene at the American Veterinary Medical Association Convention in August to continue work on its midterm strategic goals.