Pipeline to Veterinary Medical Education

Hilda Mejia Abreu, Associate Dean for Admissions, Student Life, and Inclusivity, was the 2018 recipient of MSU's Excellence-in-Diversity Award in the "Emerging Progress" category.

The MSU College of Veterinary Medicine's (CVM) Office of Diversity and Inclusion (recently renamed Office of Admissions, Student Life, and Inclusivity; ASI) makes it a top priority to attract, recruit, and retain students, interns, residents, faculty, and staff who are representative of the diverse population of our state, region, and country while weaving diversity throughout the curriculum. In its 2017-2022 Strategic Plan, ASI outlined goals, strategies, and tactics that guide its commitment to advancing a college culture that is inclusive of all of its members and representative of the broader society it serves.

Strategy: Feed the Pipeline

In 2017, ASI received a six-year, $750,000 grant from the State of Michigan's Talent Investment Agency. The grant is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr.–César Chávez– Rosa Parks (KCP) Initiative. With this grant the ASI is giving an increasing number of students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to complete college degrees and experience career success as active participants in a knowledge-based global society and economy.

The KCP grant, focused on students in kindergarten through college, includes K-12 outreach in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) and career exploration in Metro Detroit and Greater Lansing. MSU undergraduate students receive support for mentoring, leadership development, supplemental instruction, and career exposure and exploration. The KCP grant also provides support for approximately 300 undergraduates and 700 youth annually through outreach efforts that aim to improve graduation rates and introduce students to shelter medicine and other career pathways in veterinary medicine.

"The CVM ASI is thankful for receiving this funding as it will help us to advance diversity and inclusion and expand the STEAM pipeline in veterinary medical education," said Hilda Mejia Abreu, Associate Dean for Admissions, Student Life, and Inclusivity.

Upcoming Event

March 22-24, 2020

Next year the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine will host the Equity Within the Classroom Conference. This annual conference is a collaborative effort between Michigan's King-Chavez-Parks Initiative and the state's public and independent colleges and universities. The Equity Conference provides a forum for faculty, administration, staff, and postsecondary education supporters to review current research findings; annual retention outcome data; best practice strategies; and, specific KCP-developed retention strategies positively impacting equality of opportunity and degree achievement of KCP targeted students.

For more information: cvm.msu.edu/events/equity2020