News and Progress

College of Veterinary Medicine benefit reaches $100,000 endowment goal

June 14, 2005

As in many professions, it is costly to obtain a veterinary medicine education, but the University of Missouri-Columbia’s College of Veterinary Medicine is working to lessen those costs for students.

The college’s 18th annual Gentle Doctor Benefit in April raised more than $41,000. Originally created as a way to fund a portion of the $20 million Clydesdale Hall, the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Medical Teaching Hospital, the event now bolsters the amount of money available for student scholarships. This year’s event helped the College surpass its goal of $100,000 to establish an endowment for student scholarships.

“A lot of people are not aware of how important scholarships are for professional students,” said Lisa Jones, special events coordinator for the college. “The benefit helps the best and brightest enter the field of veterinary medicine. We identified that scholarships are a major issue in the field, and we will keep that as our goal.”

The event, held at the Hearnes Center Field House, included dinner, two live auctions and two silent auctions. All 330 items were donated and included everything from vacations to autographed sports memorabilia. The college raises money through auction item sales and sponsorships, both corporate and private.

Stacey Bone, a first-year veterinary medicine student, was awarded the 2004-05 Gentle Doctor Scholarship in the amount of $4,000. The recipient is chosen by veterinary medicine faculty based on financial need, academic abilities and aptitude in the field. Bone, who earned a degree in biology from MU, is from Branson, Mo., and serves as the college’s Class of 2008 president.

Jones said that there are plans in the works to make more of the money from the benefit available to more students, particularly those in their first year. The College of Veterinary Medicine awards about $350,000 in scholarships to its students each year.

Currently, about 63 percent, or 1,600, of the veterinarians practicing in Missouri are graduates of the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. Approximately 2,700 veterinarians have graduated from MU since 1950.