Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine welcomed the class of 2016 during its annual white coat ceremony on Aug. 12. Sponsored by the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association, the event officially recognized 102 members of the incoming class by donning them with lab coats to be worn during their veterinary education.
The hour-long ceremony was held in Mahler Hall at the UGA Hotel and Conference Center at the Georgia Center. After the ceremony, Dr. Spencer Tally Jr., president of the GVMA, led the two-block recessional of coated students to the veterinary college for a class photo, followed by a reception with the students’ families and members of the college’s faculty and staff.
The incoming class is made up of 79 women and 23 men. The class features a wide variety of interests: 58 percent are interested in companion animal medicine; 11 percent in mixed-animal medicine, 11 percent in zoo animal and wildlife medicine, 6 percent in food animal medicine, 5 percent in public health, 5 percent in equine medicine and 4 percent in research.
“The white coat is the symbol of medical professionalism,” said Dr. K. Paige Carmichael, the college’s associate dean for academic affairs. “This ceremony, where our first-year students are coated and hear the Veterinarian’s Oath for the first time, reminds them that they are beginning their education in one of the most respected medical professions.”
UGA College of Veterinary Medicine
The UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1946, is dedicated to training future veterinarians, to conducting research related to animal and human diseases and to providing veterinary services for animals and their owners. Research efforts are aimed at enhancing the quality of life for animals and people, improving the productivity of poultry and livestock and preserving a healthy interface between wildlife and people in the environment they share. The college enrolls 102 students each fall out of more than 600 who apply. For more information, see www.vet.uga.edu.
The current UGA College of Veterinary Medicine teaching hospital, built in 1979, serves more than 18,000 patients per year in one of the smallest teaching hospitals in the U.S. The college is currently working to raise $25 million toward building a new veterinary medical learning center, which will include a new teaching hospital, classrooms and laboratories that will allow for the education of more veterinarians. For more information, see http://www.vet.uga.edu/vmlc/.
