Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine announces charitable contribution from Mars Veterinary Health
Article by: Allison Burk
Originally Published
Mars Veterinary Health, a diverse and growing business within the Mars, Incorporated family of brands, has made a charitable contribution to The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine totaling more than $1.7 million. This includes funding for two small animal internship positions per year for five years, for one small animal residency, and a commitment to provide seven $25,000 scholarships per year for five years for fourth-year students who have demonstrated an interest in pursuing a small animal specialty discipline.
The veterinary industry is facing workforce shortages that impact all areas of the profession, from the veterinarians who work in our communities to the veterinary specialists who care for animals in need of advanced medical and surgical care to the academic veterinarians who prepare the next generation of veterinarians. The care and well-being of the pets in our communities could be at risk as access to care is impacted by this shortage. As an industry leader, Mars Veterinary Health and its family of businesses are devoting resources to tackle the shortage, including supporting the training of small animal specialists, among various other initiatives.
Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine continues to address the workforce shortage by retaining top talent and preparing practice-ready graduates who will serve communities in need. During the past eight years, the college has limited tuition increases to no more than 2% annually and has grown philanthropic scholarship dollars awarded by 730%. Through these efforts, the average veterinary school-related debt for Ohio State graduates has been reduced by $40,000.
“Through transformational scholarships at Ohio State, Mars Veterinary Health is directly impacting the preparation of competent, confident, and career-ready veterinarians while ensuring our communities have access to specialty care,” said Rustin M. Moore, DVM, PhD, DACVS, dean of Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “This gift moves us closer to our goal of distributing at least $5.8 million a year in philanthropic scholarships, which would enable the college to provide each student, over four years, the equivalent of at least one year of in-state tuition.”
With less debt, graduates can pursue their career path with less focus on loan repayment. Further, students can seek internships and residency programs to gain specialty training to help address the industry shortage.
The resident and intern positions created through the charitable contribution from Mars Veterinary Health do not have a return-of-service commitment so that trainees can pursue academic or private practice positions at the end of their program. Moore emphasized that this investment demonstrates a commitment by Mars Veterinary Health to the future of veterinary academia and the broader profession.
“Our interns and residents play a vital role in patient care, client service, and veterinary student clinical education in Ohio State’s Veterinary Medical Center,” said Moore. “Creating more of these critical positions and ensuring our house officer salaries are competitive demonstrates our commitment to supporting the more than 125 residents and interns who carry extremely heavy workloads. Furthermore, the resident and intern positions supported through this gift complement the approximately 15 resident positions sponsored annually by Mars Veterinary Health,” Moore said. “We are proud of our expanding partnership with Mars Veterinary Health and appreciate their generosity.”
"Supporting the needs of academic veterinary medicine to ensure access to specialty care is a top priority for all of us at Mars Veterinary Health,” said Molly McAllister, DVM, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Mars Veterinary Health. “We are honored to support The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s intern and residency training to enable and empower the next generation of veterinary specialists—and ultimately address the growing industry shortage and care for even more pets that need us.”
For more information about Mars Veterinary Health, please visit marsveterinary.com.
Learn more about how you can support Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.