News Article

A-State's College of Veterinary Medicine to Host Topping Off Ceremony

JONESBORO – Arkansas State University is less than a year away from the anticipated opening of what will be the ninth college on campus, and the first public College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in Arkansas.  

A topping-off ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 13, at the site of the building, located on Cherokee St. on the southeast corner of the A-State campus.  

“The physical structure represents the transformation of an idea into reality,” said Dr. Len Frey, senior adviser for strategic initiatives and senior associate dean of the CVM.

Frey, who is the former executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer for A-State, led the development of the CVM from its inception in 2019 through the hiring of its founding dean in 2023.

“We went down the path of creating a veterinary college because we recognized the acute need for more veterinarians here in the state of Arkansas, and we stayed with this irrespective of any obstacle we faced." 

Showcasing the continued momentum of the upcoming CVM, this milestone is being reached amid the construction of the building that will house future students.

CVM Dean Heidi Banse said, contingent on accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education, the college will open in fall of 2026.  

“We are thrilled with the progress on our CVM building. With this milestone, we are one step closer to being able to launch our Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program,” said Dr. Banse. 

“This structure is much more than a building. It is the place where the lives of the young people being trained here will be forever transformed for the better. And the impact of those who are trained here will be transformative for our state and the Mid-South region,” Frey added.

The first cohort of 120 students is expected to be in the building and traversing campus for the 2026-2027 academic year.  

“We are looking forward to having students. We have been working diligently on constructing facilities, creating a curriculum, and designing student support programs to ensure delivery of a world-class DVM education,” Banse continued. 

She said developing the program has been a rewarding experience. Ultimately, this is all being done for the students who will join the program.  

“We continue to be focused on creating DVM graduates who are prepared to enter practice at graduation. We are proud of our competency-based curriculum, our new facilities that are purposely designed to support hands-on learning, and our community partnerships, which serve to ensure a breadth of real-world experiences for our students,” said Banse. 

Attendees at the ceremony will have the opportunity to sign the beam before it is set into place on the CVM building.  

"With the continued support from our community, here at A-State, across Arkansas, and beyond, we can’t wait for next steps,” Banse concluded.

When completed, the CVM building will be a 56,000-square-foot facility. 


An artist rendering of the future College of Veterinary Medicine.