Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

  • Login

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Business Law
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • Coronavirus 2020
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Vote Now for Women in Leadership
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read the issue
    • Order a copy
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Nominate execs for 2021

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Home News Regions Southwest Virginia Tennessee veterinary school crosses state lines

Tennessee veterinary school crosses state lines

Published February 2, 2017 by Tim Thornton

More than 300 students attend Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine is the newest vet school in Tennessee — and in Virginia. In fact, it’s the newest in the country.

While some of the school’s facilities are on the main LMU campus in Harrogate, Tenn., students get their hands-on training 12 miles away in Ewing, Va., at the DeBusk Veterinary Teaching Center. The campuses sit on either side of the Cumberland Gap.

“Pete DeBusk is the chairman of the board of trustees,” says John Dascanio, the vet school’s executive associate dean. “He’s a benefactor of the university and a great friend of the university.”

A Virginia native, DeBusk is the owner and chairman of DeRoyal Industries in Knoxville, Tenn. He has an Angus farm near Ewing, a Lee County community, and donated part of his property to the fledgling school. “That facility became sort of an ideal solution to where we could keep our animals,” Dascanio says.

LMU, a private university offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, was chartered in 1897.  The vet school welcomed its first class of 87 students in 2014. It has just over 300 students in three classes now.

Those students spend about half their day on the Harrogate campus and the other half at the DeBusk center in Ewing. During their final year, they’ll also spend time with vets and at veterinary hospitals that have partnered with the school to give students real-world experience.

Before they enter that final year, Dascanio says, students deal with a variety of animals, ranging from household pets to beef cattle. While the majority of students will probably work in small-animal practices, they need to be prepared, Dascanio says, for the occasional goat or pot-bellied pig.

“We also want to open students’ eyes to all the possibilities out there,” Dascanio says. Students who grow up in suburbia may think of vets as small-animal doctors because that’s what they’ve seen. Introducing students to cows and horses may open up a new world, but most still end up in small-animal practices.

“I think a lot of people choose large-animal [practices] because it’s a lifestyle choice more than anything else,” Dascanio says. “They enjoy being around farm animals. They enjoy being around farmers.  They want to contribute back to agriculture. That’s sort of a different goal in life.”

An economic impact study conducted before the first class entered the vet school defined its primary impact area as 14 counties in Tennessee, 10 in Kentucky and three in Virginia. In its first year of operation, the school was predicted to have a $16.6 million economic impact. That impact was projected to grow as the school grows.

Related Stories

Virginia Business logo

Eldor opens auto-parts plant in Botetourt County

Former classmates want to turn Bristol Mall into a casino resort

Virginia Business logo

McAirlaid’s Inc. to expand production in Franklin County

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2023 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk