Nevada could be getting its 1st veterinary school
Nevada could be getting its first veterinary school.
Roseman University of Health Sciences announced Monday that it has submitted a letter of intent to the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education to begin planning for a veterinary medicine school. The proposed College of Veterinary Medicine would be at the university’s Henderson campus.
The program would be the first doctor of veterinary medicine degree offered in the state of Nevada. Currently, the University of Nevada, Reno offers a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science, the College of Southern Nevada offers a veterinary nursing program and other vet tech programs and UNLV offers veterinary school advising.
Currently, there is no timeline or budget for the proposed school, but submitting the letter of intent allows the university to begin the planning and development process as well as consult with veterinary professionals to establish clinical partnerships. There are no plans to construct any new buildings at the Henderson campus, but some building improvements will be made to accommodate the new program.
Submitting the letter of intent to the AVMA Council on Education is the first step in the accreditation process, Roseman said. Following the letter of intent, the AVMA Council on Education will conduct an internal review, external review and report on their findings, until they finally review and make their decision.
Following, the university must also get approval from institutional bodies Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and the Nevada Commission on Postsecondary Education.
The four-year doctor of veterinary medicine program will use a “hybrid, distributive model,” according to a Roseman representative, with students rotating through clinical training programs in equine, large animal and companion-animal medicine at the Henderson campus. Additionally, off-campus training will take place in Nevada and surrounding states with a “strong focus” on supporting underserved communities.
The university has also named Dr. Katherine Fogelberg as the founding dean to lead the development of the proposed program.
Fogelberg holds a Ph.D. in science education from Texas Christian University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from St. Mary’s University and a DVM from Texas A&M University. She is also an Army veteran with over a decade of clinical experience in small animal general and emergency practice as well as experience in zoo and wildlife medicine.
“Our goal is to create a veterinary program that is not only academically rigorous but also deeply mission-driven,” said Fogelberg. “We want to train veterinarians who are equipped to serve all communities—urban and rural, pets and livestock, locally and nationally.”
According to the news release, Nevada has a need for more veterinarians. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated several regions in Nevada—including Douglas, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Lincoln, Pershing and Lander counties—as high-priority shortage zones for veterinary services, cited the release
Recently, Roseman also received final accreditation to establish an medical degree program in Las Vegas in February. The college started taking applications in March with plans to start a charter class of 60 students in July on its Summerlin campus.
Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.
