A REPORT CARD FROM THE DEAN : News from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire

In late 1999, the Faculte de medecine veterinaire lost its status as an institution fully accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), a status it had held since 1991, and was granted partial accreditation for a 2-year period. Since that time, the recovery of full accreditation has been the chief priority. In 2000, the administrations of the Faculte and the Universite de Montreal were successful in their approach to the government of Quebec. The government granted over $41 million to recruit professors and nonteaching personnel to modernize the Centre hospitalier universitaire veterinaire (CHUV), and to buy equipment. However, comprehensive funding for infrastructure and the equipment required is not guaranteed, as only $15 million of the $41 million allocated by Quebec will be used for these purposes. As agriculture is a shared jurisdiction in the Canadian federal context, a substantial contribution has been sought from the federal government. This request is part of a common strategy by the 4 Canadian faculties of veterinary medicine. They consider that conditions in each of the faculties require improvement. A detailed assessment by architects associated with the Faculte's project indicates that $59 million will be needed to renovate and expand infrastructures, excluding equipment, research laboratories and facilities for contagious animals. Prior to the events of September 11, 2001, the federal government appeared quite receptive to the veterinary faculties' requests, but, unfortunately, the budget brought down in December did not include provisions for these requests. Despite the changed political climate and, indeed, as a result of this change, the issues of animal food quality, biosafety, livestock protection, veterinary public health and the agro-environment are, more than ever, the focus of public concerns, which should encourage the federal government to provide support for the veterinary faculties. We are therefore intensifying our efforts to obtain the funding required to rectify our situation, and we remain optimistic. Meanwhile, following tabling of the progress report on corrective measures already introduced, the AVMA has granted a 2-year extension of the partial accreditation status; that is, until December 2003. This delay should enable us to obtain the total funding required for the proposed work. Initial construction work will begin in June 2002, thanks to the $15 million provided by the Quebec government. The Faculte is also very actively recruiting new professors. Of the 22 new positions allocated, 12 have already been filled. The following professors have joined the ranks: Benoit Charrette, Companion Animal Surgery Martine Denicourt, Porcine Medicine (Visiting Professor) Marilyn Dunn, Companion Animal Internal Medicine Diane Frank, Animal Behavior Pierre Helie, Anatomical Pathology Daniel Jean, Equine Medicine Rejean Lefebvre, Theriogenology Stephane Lair, Exotic, Wildlife, and Zoo Animals Roger Ruppanner, Epidemiology Christine Theoret, Anatomy Eric Troncy, Anesthesiology Pascal Vachon, Laboratory Animal Science and Medicine Recruitment for positions in virology and epidemiology (risk analysis) will be completed shortly, and recruitment is underway for professors in equine surgery, emergency care, medical imaging, clinical pathology, oncology, companion animal internal medicine, bovine ambulatory medicine, and food-producing animal surgery. The main thrust of the studies program has been the preparation of the 3rd and 4th years of the new 5-year DVM program. The 4th year will include a full session devoted to optional courses and the 5th will be essentially a clinical year. The development of these new courses requires a considerable amount of effort by faculty members. In 2001, the Faculte received 474 applications for admission to the DVM program, a slight decrease compared with the previous year (525). The program has a total enrollment of 319 students, of whom 81% are female. A total of 160 students are pursuing graduate studies, including 5 postdoctoral trainees, 31 PhD students, 80 MSc students, 21 students in DES (Diplomes d'etudes specialisees) programs, 5 students in DESS (Diplome d'etudes superieures specialisees — technologie et salubrite des viandes), and 18 internship students. Another significant success in the past year has been the Mentoring 2001 project. This program is designed to improve the transition from the educational to the work environment. Over 150 students have been able to establish contacts with professionals from their discipline working in various fields. In other respects, the year 2000–2001 saw considerable progress in professional development. The recruitment, last year, of Dr. Micheline Filion Carriere and her close collaboration with LITIEM (Laboratoire d'integration des technologies informatiques en enseignement medical), has led to the development of new professional development tools. In addition to the usual activities, course offerings for veterinarians now include university credit courses, computer- or fiber optic-assisted videoconferences, CDs, and WebCT courses. This year, the professional development service is adding custom-designed courses for animal owners and breeders to its list of course offerings. It should also be pointed out that through a partnership concluded in 1999, 150 animal health technician students enrolled at the CEGEP de Saint-Hyacinthe are completing placements specific to their specialization. This partnership enables the 2 institutions to pool their resources. The year 2000–2001 was also remarkably successful in the area of research. Research budgets obtained by professors increased significantly, reaching the sum of $4 084 000. Grants from federal research agencies totalled $2 215 000. This amount includes $618 000 for the Canadian Research Network on Bacterial Pathogens of Swine. Provincial government grants now stand at $685 000. Furthermore, industry partners have allocated $375 000, in addition to the amounts granted for new research chairs in meat safety ($330 000) and poultry research ($90 000). They have also contributed to research in clinical pharmacology ($40 000) as well as to the NSERC network program in the amount of $212 000. In addition, $235 000 was allocated by the Universite de Montreal and $112 000 by the Fonds du Centenaire; $60 500 came from miscellaneous sources. These figures reflect research operating budgets only. They do not include the amounts spent on fixed assets, especially the sums granted for the Institut de biotechnologie veterinaire et alimentaire and the Centre de recherche de Montreal pour la volaille, or those allocated by the university to support research centres. One of this year's most significant achievements was the launch of a joint fundraising campaign for the Centre de recherche de Montreal pour la volaille by the Faculte and McGill University's Macdonald College. Orchestrated by Dr. Martine Boulianne and presided over by St-Hubert BBQ Ltd. Chairman Jean-Pierre Leger, this $2.5 million fundraising campaign is designed to supplement grants from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ministere de l'Education du Quebec ($4.2 million). A number of organizations have already announced substantial grants totalling $1.35 million. In May 2001, Dr. Lawrence Smith was awarded a Canada Research Chair. Known throughout the world for his work in nuclear transfer, cloning, and transgenic animal production, Dr. Smith is particularly interested in improving the understanding of mechanisms governing the initial stages of development in the embryo in order to improve the effectiveness of human and animal reproductive techniques. After cloning the celebrated bull Starbuck, Dr. Smith and his team at the Centre de recherche en reproduction animale have recently perfected a new cloning technique that is nearly 4 times as effective as the one that produced Starbuck II. This resulted in the birth of 3 sturdy, thoroughly healthy, identical calves at the Faculte in late 2001. At the CHUV and in Diagnostic Services, most of our efforts have centred on meeting the AVMA requirements. Some of them relate to clinical teaching, including infrastructures and equipment, and obviously, the recruitment of personnel. In addition to professors recruited in several clinical disciplines, we can now count on 26 clinicians to ensure service and enhance clinical teaching. In addition, the new vice-dean of Clinical Affairs, Dr. Michel Carrier, is now supported in his functions by an assistant, Mrs. Angele Coupal, who has training and experience in hospital management. The most significant improvements this year are the opening of a general practice service at the Companion Animal Clinic with the recruitment of Drs. Suzie Lemay and Marie Le Cornec, and the redesign of the equine ambulatory clinic with the recruitment of Dr. Sonia Voyer. In all sectors, new positions for nonteaching personnel are being created or have been created over the past months. It is obvious that projects and achievements are not lacking at the Universite de Montreal's Faculte de medecine veteriniare. We can only hope that financial contributors will grant them the support they deserve.

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