First-in-kind public-private partnership creates state-of-the-art learning experience for practicing veterinarians

Groundbreaking Partnership Between Academia And Industry Aims To
Provide An Unparalleled Online Learning Experience To Help Meet The Needs Of An Evolving Veterinary Profession

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences have announced today a groundbreaking partnership with Pfizer Animal Health. This unique partnership between academia and industry will deliver the Universities’ expertise in medicine and teaching, supported by Pfizer Animal Health’s information delivery and customer service know-how. Together, the partnership will offer veterinarians convenient web-based educational products utilizing the latest advances in educational technologies.

Practicing veterinarians need access to high quality educational opportunities throughout their career since the knowledge base that drives veterinary medicine continues to evolve after professionals have earned their degree. The partnership between Cornell, Texas A&M, and Pfizer Animal Health will seek to transform the learning process, providing practitioners with unique opportunities to stay current with the latest discoveries in veterinary medicine, hone in their clinical skills, incorporate current medical advances into decisions that affect patient care, and build more profitable practices. This collaboration will leverage technology to ensure convenient, round-the-clock access to these educational opportunities.

This partnership will utilize advanced technology to make high quality, lifelong learning more accessible to veterinarians. The educational platform will allow practitioners and students to learn in an online environment that is interactive, experiential, and flexes to accommodate different styles of learning.

“It is not very often in one’s academic lifetime that an opportunity arises which, if pursued, allows substantial change in our profession. I believe this partnership is just one of those opportunities. In the truest sense of collaboration, two colleges of veterinary medicine and Pfizer Animal Health are developing a unique public-private partnership that will revolutionize education and learning. A distinguishing factor that will set this educational content apart is that the academic partners are providing not only subject matter expertise and peer review, but also pedagogical expertise, which will result in transformative learning experiences. The excitement in the air on the Texas A&M campus is palpable and we are looking forward not only to working with Cornell University, but also to including content experts from other veterinary institutions.” Said Eleanor M. Green, DVM, DACVIM, DABVP, Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.

“Ultimately, the goal is to support and bolster veterinarians in their pursuit of excellence and improve the quality of animal care,” said Dr. Michael I. Kotlikoff, Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. “This state-of-the-art learning environment will encourage innovation and flexibility in the profession, while meeting the needs of all those involved by aligning the abilities of the veterinarian with their clients’ and patients’ needs and responding to an identified need among practice owners to maintain their skills, improve their approach to practice management, and continually develop their professional knowledge.”

“At Pfizer Animal Health, we are proud to be part of this groundbreaking partnership with Cornell and Texas A&M, which will allow us to offer exciting opportunities for Veterinarians to access world-class learning that will be highly relevant and immediately applicable to their practices, produced by undisputed leaders in their scientific fields and delivered in an exciting technology platform. This is just another example of our ongoing commitment to education, innovation and professional readiness for Veterinarians and this partnership is just the vehicle to ensure sustained development and delivery of top quality, unbiased, science-based education”, said Michael McFarland, DVM, DABVP, Group Director Companion Animal Veterinary Operations US Pfizer Animal Health.