The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges celebrated 50 years of service by reminiscing about the past and swiftly looking to the future. The 50th anniversary gala, held March 5 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., was the highlight of the organization’s annual conference. The dinner drew more than 300 people from the worlds of veterinary, business and government, including U.S. Sen. Al Franken, who received the inaugural AAVMC President’s Award for Meritorious Service for his championing of One Health. AAVMC, which represents 49 accredited veterinary medical colleges worldwide, announced several changes. Among them: Establishment of the Council for International Veterinary Medical Education, a group that will “inspire higher quality academic veterinary medicine in developing areas of the world,” AAVMC reported. The renaming of the AAVMC Recognition Lecture as the Billy E. Hooper Lecture Award for Distinguished Service to Veterinary Medical Education. Hooper, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVP, was AAVMC’s first executive director and is a former editor of the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. The recognition lecture was delivered by Ralph C. Richardson, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, the former dean of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. The move of AAVMC headquarters from a building on Vermont Avenue to one on K Street occupied by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Sharing the office tower starting in August will help create an “incubator for collaboration in the health professions,” said AAVMC President Eleanor Green, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ABVP. Gala attendees also were introduced to a new limited-edition book about AAVMC and its members, “Pathways to Progress,” and heard from a number of speakers, including current or former veterinary school deans such as Trevor Ames, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, and Elizabeth Stone, DVM, MS, MPP. Among the international guests were Stuart Reid, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ECVPH, of the University of London Royal Veterinary College, and Ana M. Bravo del Moral, DVM, Ph.D., president of the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education.
