Im sorry but I disagree wholeheartedly. Mediocre salaries for vets? Have you not seen all the new vet hospitals popping up around the state with boarding and grooming and the like? Vets are building Million dollar facilities and are banking. Small animal vets are big business. We built a new clinic with boarding where the luxury suites have TVs for the Dogs. Let that sink in. For the dogs to watch tv while boarding. People pay over a 100 dollars a night for one of those suites. Vets have diversified their services and become a one stop shop. You would not believe the number of kids going out of country to get vet degrees. My Stepson's fiance went all the way to Vet School in St. Kits and is now a vet in Denver. It's next to impossible to get into our Vet School and there is obviously a large supply of Students wanting to become vets, so why not meet the demand in state?Texas A & M said:
I've read a lot on this topic since this debate started. It's clear that vet schools are losers for universities. How many other colleges are trying to start one? None.
They drain money, add no prestige, and produce grads with significant debt that earn mediocre salaries. It would not pain me to see TAMU get out of the veterinary education business all together.
Tech is positioned in a rural region serving rural needs. Let their niche be agriculture and veterinary education. TAMU will continue growing in the fields of engineering, medicine, law, business, computer and information sciences, biological and biomedical sciences, social sciences, etc.
I understand that some old school large animal vets don't do as well , but quite a few do.
As for having A&M cede the Agricultural role to Tech, that is blasphemy. Do you even know what the A stands for in our name? Do you even know how many Agricultural Degrees are earned every year here? Surely you realize the Brazos Valley is rural and we are the Leaders in Agriculture for a reason. I can't fathom how anyone would even suggest for A&M to even consider getting out of the Agricultural and Veterinary fields so Tech can have a niche.
Aggies are sought after for their drive and work ethic in every field taught at our University. Our Poultry Science id a world leader. Our Swine dept is second to none. Our Beef Cattle dept. has been a world leader for decades. Ask row crop farmers about A&Ms contribution to production and efficiency. Our Agricultural Economics dept. is second to none. Think about the advances made in Genetics through our Agricultural College.
Didn't mean to post such a long post, but no we will not cede our place in the Agricultural and Veterinary fields to anyone.
Gil '91