The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

is a

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

, located in North Grafton,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The Cummings School is the only college of veterinary medicine in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. The school is also part of the

Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts The Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts (HECCMA) is a nonprofit association of eleven public and private colleges and universities located in Central Massachusetts. The Consortium allows full-time students at any of the member col ...

History

Established in 1978 under the leadership of Tufts President

Jean Mayer Jean Mayer (19 April 1920 – 1 January 1993) was a French-American scientist best known for his research on the physiological bases of hunger and the metabolism of essential nutrients, and for his role in shaping policy on world hunger at bo ...

, the Cummings School was the first school of veterinary medicine in New England since the closure of Middlesex University in Waltham in 1947. The school is supervised by a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

, appointed by the

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

and the provost, with the approval of the

trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

. The dean is responsible for all aspects of operating the school, including admissions, education, faculty appointments, partnerships, and affiliated research institutions. Appointed in July 2019, Alastair Cribb is the current dean of the school, as well as the Henry and Lois Foster Professor of Biomedical Sciences. Since 1981, the school has run the Omicron chapter of the

Alpha Psi Alpha Psi () is a professional Veterinary Medicine fraternity started at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1907. History Founded by twenty-two students in Veterinary Medicine at the Ohio State University, Alpha Psi w ...

professional veterinary medicine fraternity. In 2005, the school was named in honor of Bill Cummings and his wife, Joyce, who are founders of the Cummings Foundation, after a fifty-million dollar commitment was made. Bill graduated from Tufts in 1958 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. Another major donor to the school was

Agnes Varis Agnes Varis (''née'' Koulouvaris; January 11, 1930 – July 29, 2011) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who was the founder and president of Agvar Chemicals Inc. and Aegis Pharmaceuticals. Early life and family Varis was born ...

. In 2015, along with the generosity of the Cummings family, the school was an early partner to help establish the

University of Global Health Equity University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) is a health sciences university in Rwanda. An initiative of Partners In Health, UGHE is a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution. Catalytic partners that have helped to launch the University inc ...

. Notably, the Cummings School was a primary care provider for

Frank and Louie Frank and Louie, sometimes referred to as Frankenlouie (September 8, 1999 – December 4, 2014), was a diprosopus (also known as "janus" or "two-faced") cat known for his unusual longevity. He was named by the '' Guinness Book of World Records'' a ...

, known as the world's oldest

diprosopus Diprosopus ( el, διπρόσωπος, "two-faced", from , , "two" and , euter "face", "person"; with Latin ending), also known as craniofacial duplication (cranio- from Greek , "skull", the other parts Latin), is an extremely rare congenital di ...

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

Program

The Cummings School offers both

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

degrees, or a dual combination, in fields related to veterinary medicine. Master's degrees include study in Animals and Public Policy, Conservation Medicine, and Infectious Disease and Global Health. Doctoral degrees include Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(PhD) in Biomedical Sciences. The DVM degree can also be paired with other courses of study at Tufts'

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, or the

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

Notable faculty

Robyn Alders Robyn Gwen Alders AO is the first female veterinary scientist to be made an Officer of the Order of Australia. Dr. Alders is most recognised for her work on food security by improvements in poultry health in developing countries. Alders' work ...

(professor) *

Franklin M. Loew Franklin Martin Loew, (1939 in Syracuse, NY – 2003 in Boston, MA) was president of Becker College, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University and dean of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine (now Tufts Cummin ...

(dean)

Notable alumni

Lexie Laing Alexandria "Lexie" Laing is an American former ice hockey forward, most recently having played for the Boston Pride of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Career During high school, Laing played for the Noble and Greenough School, serving as ...

(MS APP 2020), professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player

References

External links