Arkansas State University will proceed with creation of a College of Veterinary Medicine in Jonesboro. The ASU System Board of Trustees voted to approve the initiative for the new veterinary school at A-State on March 10 at its regular meeting on the ASU Three Rivers campus.

System President Chuck Welch said the new college, which will offer a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, will help meet substantial state and national demand for additional veterinarians while escalating A-State and Jonesboro as a destination for professional science education and research. The campus is also home to the Arkansas Biosciences Institute and New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“We believe Arkansas State will attract even more undergraduate students who want to pursue degrees in science,” Welch said. “They will soon have the opportunity to stay in Jonesboro for a seamless transition to vet school in addition to existing options of medical school, advanced nursing programs, physical therapy and other outstanding master’s and doctoral programs.”

Arkansas is one of only 19 states that has no vet school. Graduates of the A-State program will be qualified to work as veterinarians in Arkansas and elsewhere following a four-year program of study.

A-State Chancellor Todd Shields said the degree program curriculum will be addressed by the Graduate Council, then application will be made to the Arkansas Division of Higher Education. Accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education will also be required. The “optimistic goal” for opening is fall 2025, Shields said.