February 18, 2015
www.gfb.org
Vol. 33 No. 7
UGA VET SCHOOL DEDICATES NEW MEDICAL CENTER IN ATHENS The University of Georgia held a dedication ceremony Feb. 13 for its new 300,000 square-foot Veterinary Medical Center located on College Station Road in Athens. Between 800 to 900 people attended the event and took self-guided tours of the facility after the ribbon cutting. The center, which officially opens for patients March 25, includes a teaching hospital for small and large animals, clinical labs to support the hospital and an education center that houses classrooms and an auditorium. The teaching hospital is roughly 140,000 square feet and includes facilities for small and large animals. UGA President Jere Morehead said planning for the new center began during the administrations of former Gov. Sonny Perdue and past UGA President Michael Adams. Morehead thanked Gov. Nathan Deal for continuing support of the center and making it a top priority. “This world class facility will support our College of Veterinary Medicine and will facilitate student learning and provide outstanding patient care,” Morehead said in remarks at the dedication ceremony. “This facility will have a transforming presence not only in Athens but across our state and beyond. This center is honoring our great land-grant tradition at the University of Georgia.” Gov. Deal thanked the Georgia General Assembly for approving the $65 million in state funds that helped build the $97 million facility and the alumni and stakeholders who financed the remaining costs with private donations. “One of the things that makes a project go further and got our attention was that there was a private funding component,” Deal said. “Most of us know and we say we’re proud of the fact that agriculture is still the number one industry in our state. What we are doing here is an important part of continuing to grow this segment of our economy. Veterinarians inspect meat, they treat large animals and they treat small animals. They do the things that protect our quality of life.” The hospital includes a 24-hour, pull-through breezeway for large animal emergencies and a -continued