American Veterinary Medical Foundation and Pfizer Animal Health Team Up to Award Up to $2 Million in Scholarships to Veterinary
2009年10月2日 - 4:16AM
PRニュース・ワイアー (英語)
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an effort to
help U.S. veterinary students cope with rising school debt while
reinforcing the importance of building a diverse profession and
addressing a shortage of food animal veterinarians, the American
Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) and Pfizer Animal Health are
introducing a new, annual scholarship program that will award up to
$2 million through 2012. The Pfizer Animal Health Veterinary
Student Scholarship Program will be administered by the AVMF and
funded by Pfizer Animal Health. It will award $2,500 scholarships
to more than 225 veterinary students per year in U.S. veterinary
schools accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Applications for the spring 2010 scholarships, available at
http://www.avmf.org/, are due by November 13, 2009. "The American
Veterinary Medical Foundation is very pleased to be partnering with
Pfizer Animal Health on this exciting new scholarship program which
will provide significant impact across the country for veterinary
students," explained Michael Cathey, executive director of the
AVMF. "Thanks to the generosity of Pfizer Animal Health, this new
scholarship program is a tremendous leap forward in not only
addressing the rising veterinary student debt but also in
addressing diversity and workforce shortages in food animal
veterinary medicine." "Beyond the serious challenge of rising
veterinary student debt, Pfizer Animal Health also sees a troubling
record of insufficient diversity within the profession, as well as
fewer practicing or skilled food animal veterinarians in rural
America," said Clint Lewis, president of U.S. Operations, Pfizer
Animal Health. "We want to not only help shape the future of our
veterinary profession, while ensuring that livestock producers,
wherever they are in the U.S., may access medicines and health care
services for their herds." Although the program is open to all 2nd
and 3rd year veterinary students, at least 40 percent of the
awardees will be students likely to enter food animal medicine or
rural practice. Furthermore, approximately 30 percent of
scholarship recipients will be from diverse backgrounds, according
to age, gender, physical disability and ethnicity, among other
characteristics. These new scholarships have been warmly embraced
by the educational community. "Most, if not all, American
veterinary schools are currently trying to answer the questions of
how to encourage more young veterinary students to go into rural
and large animal medicine, and this new scholarship program seems
like a very direct and expedient way of answering that question,"
explains Dr. Chris Ross, associate dean for academic affairs at
Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
"Furthermore, diversity is a problem for all educational
establishments, so direct measures, like these scholarships, are a
great idea." AVMA President, Dr. Larry R. Corry agrees. "It has
been said that, 'Every animal needs a strong foundation.' This is
equally true for the veterinarians who care for them. This program
will provide a strong foundation to veterinarians by assisting them
in graduating with less debt, provide more opportunities to
practice in rural areas and enrich the diversity of the profession
as a whole," Dr. Corry said. For more information or an
application, please visit http://www.avmf.org/. American Veterinary
Medical Foundation is the charitable arm of the AVMA. For over 40
years, AVMF has been dedicated to protecting and advancing the well
being and medical care of animals. Charitable contributions and
support to the Foundation (AVMF), help veterinarians help animals.
Funding priorities include state emergency preparedness, disaster
planning, animal health studies and veterinary student
scholarships. In the last decade, AVMF has awarded grants totaling
over $7,500,000. For more information visit, http://www.avmf.org/.
The AVMA and its more than 78,000 member veterinarians are engaged
in a wide variety of activities dedicated to advancing the science
and art of animal, human and public health. Visit the AVMA Web site
at http://www.avma.org/ for more information. Pfizer Animal Health,
one of six business units of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), is a world
leader in discovering and developing innovative animal prescription
medicines and vaccines, investing an estimated $300 million
annually. For more information on how Pfizer works to ensure a
safe, sustainable global food supply with healthy livestock, or how
Pfizer helps companion animals and horses to live longer, healthier
lives, visit http://www.pfizerah.com/. DATASOURCE: American
Veterinary Medical Association CONTACT: Tom McPheron, AVMA,
+1-847-285-6781, mobile, +1-773-494-5419, ; or Rick Goulart,
Pfizer, +1-212-733-7457, mobile, +1-860-501-3391, Web Site:
http://www.avma.org/ http://www.avmf.org/ http://www.pfizerah.com/
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