Ontario Veterinary College

Ontario Veterinary College
Type	Public
Location	Ontario, Canada

The Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) is the oldest and one of the most well known veterinary school in Canada and North America. It is located on the campus of the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. OVC is one of the five veterinary school that offers the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, DVM program in Canada.

History

The Ontario Veterinary College is the oldest veterinary school in North America. It was established in Toronto in 1862, by the Scot Andrew Smith, a graduate of the Royal School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh. It later moved to Guelph, Ontario in 1922 and became a founding college of the University of Guelph in 1964. [1]

About

The OVC is the only veterinary college in the province of Ontario, and one of only five current veterinary colleges across Canada. (The other four are at the Université de Montréal, University of Prince Edward Island, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Calgary) The University of Calgary, which opened in 2008 is the youngest of the five, while the OVC is the oldest. [2].

OVC is semi-autonomous from the University of Guelph. While registrations and fees are paid to the Guelph registrar, OVC has amenities such as its own Information Technology Services and student body council (the Central Veterinary Students Association). Until May 2009, it also had a functioning library. However, due to university cutbacks, most services and all non-reserve texts were transferred away from the OVC Learning Commons to the University of Guelph's McLaughlin library. Each year (referred to as a Phase) also has its own council which works with the CVSA.

New Developments

OVC has just recently been granted $9.5 million from the province of Ontario. The province is investing in a unique educational centre in primary healthcare at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College (OVC).

The new facility is part of the overall redevelopment of OVC and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, said president Alastair Summerlee. “The new primary health-care centre is an example of the leadership by the provincial government in investing in the future of our universities and colleges,” said Summerlee. “It will provide an opportunity for private/public partnership in creating better campus facilities for our students.”

The primary health-care centre will provide educational experiences in all aspects of primary health care, from surgical and technical skills to business and communication skills to preventive medicine, nutrition and animal welfare and behaviour. Students will learn to educate owners about the health of their animals and to enhance the bond people feel for their animal companions.

The Hill's Primary Healthcare Centre opened during the summer of 2010 and is available to see appointments as a stand-alone veterinary hospital for routine vaccinations, spays and neuters and other wellness visits. A new state-of-the-art Pathobiology building opened in the fall of 2010. A new large animal isolation facility serves to treat equine patients at high-risk for infectious disease.

Campus

The main OVC building is located at the corner of Gordon and College Streets in Guelph, Ontario.

Academics

OVC offers bachelor's degrees in bio-medical science, but its primary degree offering is the DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine). The College also offers DVSc, PhD, MSc, MPH, and Diploma programs at the graduate level. The DVM program is one of the most competitive in the world. The annual number of places available in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program is 120 seats with 105 for Canadians with Ontario residency and 15 for non-Canadians.

Student life

A proud tradition at OVC is the naming of the class with a mascot and a color. This mascot represents them throughout the four phases, and is used regularly in conjunction with not only academics, but also intramural. Hockey plays a large part in these intramural, with rivalries coming to a head in a college wide round-robin "Challenge Cup", held in March of every year.

Past Classes have included:

• The 2007 Golden Grizzlies
• The 2008 Blue Qimmiqs
• The 2009 Jade Jaguars
• The 2010 Crimson Crocodiles [3]

Current Classes are:

• The 2012 Silver Foxes
• The 2013 Golden Phoenixes
• The 2014 Emerald Elephants
• The 2015 Scarlet Stags

See also

• University of Guelph

External links

• OVC Main Website
• University of Guelph