The sixth day of Texas Tech-mas - School of Veterinary Medicine

On the sixth day of Texas Tech-mas, my Red Raiders gave to me...

The School of Veterinary Medicine’s inaugural class and they just completed their first semester.

The Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine is a big deal. (Insert Will Ferrell Anchorman gif.) Turns out that it was 50 years in the making. Texas A&M is not happy about it. I’ve always said, “if you make some Aggies angry, then you’re doing something right.” Disclaimer: I’ve only said that just now but for the sake of this story, let’s just pretend it’s accurate.

I’ll give a quick synopsis of the timeline, but if you want to read more about it then you can visit the school’s website for the history.

In 1971, what is now the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted and approved for Tech to establish a veterinary school along with it’s medicine program. Unfortunately, that approval did not come with any additional funding. The State of Texas recognized a need for more trained veterinarians especially in rural areas to care for large animals. Tech conducted a feasibility study. The Board officially approved the creation of the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine in September of 2018, again much to the chagrin of Texas A&M.

The building is still being completed but the first class of students enrolled for this past fall semester (2021). They should have recently finished up their finals along with those on the main campus of Texas Tech in Lubbock. The buildings look absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to take a trip to Amarillo sometime soon and tour the facilities. Check out these images from their Twitter account.

This isn’t a sporting event or a competition like meat judging but it’s absolutely a significant moment for Tech and the current and future students who enroll in the School of Veterinary Medicine. I still consider it a win over the Aggies. And a win over the Aggies is a big win in my book every time.

For those interested, the school has its own podcast. Just click here to check it out. According to Texas Tech, we know the following about the first class.

• About 70% of the students came from rural or sparsely populated areas
• About 70% are female
• About one third are first generation college students
• About 25% classify themselves from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups

I’m so proud of my alma mater for grabbing hold of this opportunity. I’m proud of the pride Tech takes in its buildings and its desire to decorate the buildings and grounds with art. No points were scored and no champion was crowned. However, this was a major win in my opinion. I’m proud to take this moment to celebrate the inaugural class of the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine.

This is the sixth of my 12 article series of great moments from Texas Tech during this year. As you can see, not all important moments were from athletics. These are in no particular order so it is not intended to be seen as a ranking. I just wanted to treat each moment as its own and give them their due respect. I hope you enjoy this series modeled in the spirit of the 12 days of Christmas.