FRANKFORT, Ky. — A bill allowing Murray State University to establish a veterinary medicine doctorate degree passed the full House of Representatives on Feb. 15 and will now head to the Senate for concurrence. If signed into law, House Bill 400 would make MSU the first university in Kentucky eligible to create to offer a doctorate in veterinary medicine.
In Kentucky, the shortage of veterinarians is particularly felt in rural areas and for specialists in large animal care. The commonwealth is one step closer to being the 23rd state to offer a veterinary medicine degree at an in-state university.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports 86 of Kentucky’s counties are facing some sort of veterinarian shortage. State Rep. Richard Heath, R-Mayfield, the bill’s sponsor, said establishing an in-state post-undergraduate degree option would keep more vets in Kentucky.
“By establishing a veterinary school, we can cultivate a pool of skilled professionals equipped to address these challenges ensuring the wellbeing of both animals and communities that rely upon them,” Heath said.
Currently, the commonwealth contracts with Auburn University and Tuskegee University, both in Alabama, to reserve seats in their programs for Kentucky students, who pay an in-state tuition. However, only around 40 seats are available and are highly competitive. Students that don’t get accepted either change career paths or go elsewhere and take on considerably more student debt.
“Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine has a total of 130 slots available. Last year, there were 1,217 students that applied for those 130 slots,” Heath said.
MSU’s pre-veterinary program is the largest in the state, with around 450 students according to university officials. The university already has swine, cattle and existing infrastructure to incorporate into the prospective vet school. Heath said Kentucky is a major agriculture state and adding a doctorate program in animal medicine bolsters the state’s agriculture industry.
“We rank in the top 20 of production in several crops and livestock inventory. We’re the largest beef state east of the Mississippi. We’re the nation’s leading producer of horses overall,” Heath said.
House Bill 400 passed 82 to 6. Opponents worry about the state’s long-term ability to fund an MSU veterinary program and the seats at Auburn and Tuskegee if Kentucky faces a recession.
“We would be the only state in the country to do both. I do not think we will have the fiscal means when we get in that situation to carry on and do both,” said State Rep. Chad Aull, D-Lexington.
Aull said another concern is practicing veterinarians he has spoken to are split on the issue. However, if the bill becomes law, he wishes Murray State success.
“I hope and pray that I’m wrong and we keep the relationship with Auburn and Tuskegee going for another 70-some-odd years and that we can thrive and that Murray State does a wonderful job and is successful and we have a wonderful story to tell that other states can follow our lead in the future and maybe have both a veterinary school and reciprocal agreement,” Aull said.
The American Veterinary Medical Association states the need for vets will grow nationwide by more than 19% between 2016 and 2026.
House Bill 400 now heads to the Senate. If it passes there, its impact would not necessarily be immediate.
“It doesn’t say that there will be a veterinary school built in Kentucky. It says there can be a veterinary school built in Kentucky. It’s still on the council of postsecondary education to approve everything,” said Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy, R-Paducah.
Murray State’s proposed veterinary school would operate under a distributed model, meaning students would learn off campus instead of MSU having an on-campus veterinary clinic.
Murray State officials told Spectrum News 1 previously, they intend to offer scholarship incentives to rural pre-vet students and large animal specialists.