Established by the New York State Legislature in 1894, ratified by former Governor Roswell P. Flower, an individual who had become convinced of the value of veterinary medicine education by virtue of his personal farming experience. The College of Veterinary Medicine is an internationally recognized institution of public health, biomedical research, and veterinary medicine education. The New York State legislature allocated funding to build a veterinary medicine education building on the Cornell University campus, completed in fall of 1896, which is now part of Ives Hall. In 1957, New York state construction of a new veterinary medicine education complex on the eastern edge of the Cornell campus. Today the College of Veterinary Medicine is one of 30 veterinary colleges in the country, and one of only three in the Northeastern United States.
James Law
1894–1908
Veranus Alva Moore
1908–1929
Pierre Augustine Fish
1929–1931
William Arthur Hagan
1932–1959
George C. Poppensiek
1959–1974
Edward C. Melby, Jr.
1975–1984
Robert D. Phemister
1985–1995
Franklin M. Loew
1995–1997
Donald F. Smith
1997–2007
Michael I. Kotlikoff
2007–2015
Lorin Warnick
2015–present
Academic programs
The Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine is one of three institutions of higher education in veterinary medicine in the Northeastern United States, and one of a group of 30 Colleges and Schools of veterinary medicine education throughout the country. The core mission of the College to advance the health and well-being of animals and people through education, research, and public service. Noted for D.V.M., M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs, and research programs including New York State Diagnostic Laboratory, Baker Institute for Animal Health, a center for canine and equine research, the Feline Health Center, and biomedical research laboratories, The Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine ranks amongst the best in its field, selected as one of the best colleges for veterinary medicine by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges edition. The DVM degree program provides student instruction in the biological basis of medicine, training in primary and referral veterinary care in the veterinary teaching hospital and ambulatory services, and instructed practice in the Community Practice Service primary care clinic. Direct access to numerous innovative dairy farms in the upstate New York region facilitate training in food animal medicine. Cornell is consistently ranked the best veterinary college in the nation. State University of New YorkSchool of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences students have been selected for prestigious Medical Research Fellowships. The College recently expanded its class size from just 90 students a few years ago, to 120. In recent years, some controversy at the College has surrounded clinician care.
