Diversity matters. Differences of experience, culture, and lifestyle help to create a community where new ideas flourish and everyone feels safe, respected, and included. The CVM is committed to a welcoming, inclusive environment for all students, faculty, and staff. After all, we are strongest when we reflect the diversity in our larger communities.

To lead our diversity initiatives, in 2020, we formed the CVM Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion led by an Interim Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Prior to that, in 2017, the Council for Inclusion, Diversity, and Awareness (CIDA) was convened. This College-wide council of faculty, staff, and students is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment for all, as well as develops, monitors and evaluates the progress of the College’s strategic plan for diversity. CIDA’s responsibilities include coordination of activities that support and strengthen our College’s climate of inclusiveness and advising faculty, staff and students regarding issues of diversity. CIDA also serves as the UGA representative to the Diversity Equity and Inclusion working group of the Southeast Veterinary Education Consortium (SEVEC). 

Message from the Assistant Dean 2024

It’s amazing to see how much the College of Veterinary Medicine has grown in just the last few years.  Our DVM program is now one of the biggest in the country with a class size of 150.  We’ve also made great strides in our graduate numbers and have a popular undergraduate degree, all while implementing a new DVM curriculum.  Events on campus and at the college provided many voluntary educational opportunities for faculty, staff and students to learn and explore different cultures and communities.  Below are some of the highlights of the year.

• The College’s VOICE chapter continued the Anti-Racism courses and featured the Native American community by having Native American Veterinarians give virtual presentations and a faculty member from the Institute of Native American Studies give a lecture on the importance of animals in Native cultures.
• CIDA continued to host the “Thru the Lens” speaker series with in-person and virtual options with help from VOICE.
• The CVMToday newsletter is utilized to inform the College community of various programs and events on campus and sponsored by AVMA and AAVMC.
• Two CVM pipeline programs aimed at getting students excited about veterinary medicine as a possible career path won 2024 Inspiring Programs in STEM national awards:
  • Ready Vet Go, a 1-day long program targeting middle schoolers; and
  • Diversity in Veterinary Medicine, a multi-institutional experiential learning program with an emphasis in laboratory diagnostics in rural South Georgia at the Tifton Diagnostic Laboratory. This program hosts 3-5 workshops a year aimed at 4H, undergraduate and veterinary technology students.
• We are also proud of the life blood of the CVM, our students, who won awards this year, including:
  • Two students won awards from the UGA Black Faculty and Staff Organization, a graduate student scholarship and a leadership award;
  • One student was selected for the Chewy Veterinary Leaders program;
  • Three students were selected for the 2023 Merck Animal Health Scholarship, aimed at 2^nd and 3^rd year DVM students; and
  • One student was selected for the AVMA/AMVF Scholarship for Veterans.

I want to thank everyone for making our college a welcoming place where everyone belongs. I look forward to another fantastic year.

Best,

DEI Student Representatives

Each of the cohorts in our DVM program has a diversity, equity, and inclusion student representative. DEI student representatives serve as a point of contact for their classmates to express their concerns and/or provide input on the current state of DEI at the College.

Hannah Huff | DVM Class of 2025

Yu-Jin Chang | DVM Class of 2026

Irene Nazario | Class of 2027

Kelsey Ahn | Class of 2028

Affinity Groups

Affinity group membership includes representatives from across the College of Veterinary Medicine, inclusive of class representatives along with students, faculty and staff who are interested in supporting DEI efforts at the CVM.

• Student Association of Veterinary Medical Professionals (SAVMA)
• Veterinarians as One Inclusive Community of Empowerment (VOICE)
• Pride Veterinary Medical Community (Student PVMC)
• National Association of Black Veterinarians (SNABV)
• Association of Asian Veterinary Medical Professionals (AAVMP)
• Latinx Veterinary Medical Association (Latinx VMA)

Non-Discrimination Statement

The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine encourages its members to view, evaluate, and treat all persons in any professional activity or circumstance in which they may be involved, solely as individuals on the basis of their own personal abilities, qualifications, and other relevant characteristics.

The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine confronts and rejects all forms of prejudice and discrimination that have led to misunderstanding, hostility, and injustice. These include, but are not limited to, those based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, parental status, religious beliefs, military or veteran status, political beliefs, geographic, socioeconomic, and educational background and any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law.