Hoffsis named founding dean for veterinary college at ASU
Dr. Glen Hoffsis, who has been dean of veterinary colleges at Ohio State University and the University of Florida, has been named founding dean of Arkansas State University’s planned College of Veterinary Medicine.
In addition to providing day-to-day leadership as the college continues its path toward accreditation and opening, Hoffsis will guide the university’s search for its permanent dean, according to Arkansas State.
Hoffsis has experience in helping build veterinary schools from the ground up, as he recently guided the creation of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., where he was instrumental in designing the academic program and facilities, negotiated a unique cooperative agreement with University of Kentucky diagnostic lab and Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, and gained accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.
Hoffsis “has been a tremendous resource to us in our planning and preparation, and we are extremely excited that he has agreed to join us in this next stage of our process,” interim Provost Len Frey said in a news release from Arkansas State.
His appointment continues through June 30, 2025, according to the letter of assurance from Arkansas State. Hoffsis, 82, will receive a 12-month salary of $300,000, and he will move into a senior faculty role — at a salary of $220,000 — when the next dean is hired, while continuing to “assist with all aspects of establishing the college.”
Following his work with Lincoln Memorial University, Hoffsis most recently worked in private consulting, according to Arkansas State. He was also associate director for veterinary services for the Iams Company, a division of Mars, Inc., and served on the board of directors of Banfield Pet Hospitals, one of the nation’s largest private pet hospital conglomerates, also owned by Mars, Inc.
“We are thrilled that we could bring Dean Hoffsis back into higher education to help guide the launch of our program at Arkansas State,” Arkansas State Chancellor Todd Shields stated in the news release. “His reputation as both an academician and veterinary researcher is outstanding, and we are confident his connections and knowledge within the field will be a major asset in our goal of educating more veterinarians for our state and region.”
Hoffsis was the College of Veterinary Medicine dean at Florida for seven years, where he initiated and completed construction of a new small animal hospital and developed an innovative veterinary student enrollment expansion program, according to Arkansas State. At Ohio State, his alma mater — Hoffsis has a bachelor’s in animal science, master’s in internal medicine, and doctorate in veterinary medicine from OSU — he was hospital director, head of the food animal medicine and surgery section, and associate director of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center before serving a decade as dean of the veterinary college, during which time he led the school to a top-five national ranking among veterinary colleges.
Hoffsis is a past president and executive board member of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, past president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, a past member of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine qualifying examination committee, a former co-chair of the large animal program for the American Veterinary Medical Association, and past member of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association’s Board of Directors, according to Arkansas State. A search committee for his successor as dean of Arkansas State’s veterinary school will be announced in the next several weeks.
Monday’s announcement follows closely on the heels of Lyon College naming the first dean of its new veterinary school, Dr. Eleanor M. Green, who will begin her duties July 1. The college hopes to begin offering classes for both the School of Veterinary Medicine and the state’s first dental school next year or in 2025.
Arkansas is currently without a veterinary school, and — despite the state’s significant agricultural sector — Arkansas ranks 49th in the U.S. for veterinarians per population with only 14 veterinarians per 100,000 people, according to veterinarians.org.
Nationally, more than 40,000 new veterinarians will be needed to meet projected demand in 2030, and more than 75 million pets in the U.S. may not have access to veterinary care by 2030 without intervention, according to a 2021 report by Mars Veterinary Health, a network of 2,500 veterinary clinics and hospitals. Pet care appointments increased 6.5% in 2021, nearly 2,000 baby boomer veterinarians are retiring annually, and it would take more than 30 years of graduates to meet the 10-year industry need for credentialed veterinary technicians.
In March, Arkansas State received approval from the Arkansas State University System board of trustees to offer a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and establish a College of Veterinary Medicine, and Shields expects an initial group of 120 students for the veterinary school, which he hopes to open in the fall of 2025, although he’s acknowledged that could be an “optimistic” projection. More likely, fall 2026 will be the target.
Classes will begin “when we are able,” he said earlier this year. “We are committed to providing more veterinarians to meet the needs of our state.”
The future College of Veterinary Medicine will add a faculty and support staff of approximately 40 professionals, according to the university. The initial equipment and facility investment cost of $15 million to launch will be funded by a combination of potential sources, including tuition, fundraising, university reserves and potential bond initiatives.