Legislation has been introduced in this year’s session of the Kentucky General Assembly that would pave the way for the development of a School of Veterinary Medicine at Murray State University.
According to a news release, House Bill 153 had been filed by Representative Mary Beth Imes and has 20 co-sponsors backing it—the legislation would amend the Kentucky Revised Statute to permit Murray State to offer doctoral degrees that are required for professional practice and licensure in veterinary medicine.
Senator Jason Howell intends to file identical legislation in the Kentucky Senate.
The state of Kentucky currently does not have a School of Veterinary Medicine, and approximately 70 students from Kentucky are accepted each year to out-of-state veterinary schools. There are, in fact, only 33 veterinary colleges accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association in the United States.
Murray State’s Hutson School of Agriculture has the largest pre-veterinary medicine/veterinary technology enrollment of any university in Kentucky, with an enrollment of over 450 students in the fall 2024 semester.
Representative Imes says, “It is clear to me that Murray State University can do this and will be hugely successful with this doctoral program, as they are with so many marquee programs at the University, such as our Cybersecurity programs, Doctorate in Nurse Practitioner, engineering and many others. I am grateful that Murray State University has stepped up to the plate to assist our animal agriculture industry with an ever-growing veterinary shortage.”
The measure has seen support from federal delegates Senator Rand Paul and Representative James Comer.