Applications are invited for the position of Department Head of Large Animal Clinical Sciences in the School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University. This is a full-time 11-month appointment with an anticipated start date of June 1, 2023. Applicants will be considered for a tenured, tenure-track, or clinical track (non-tenure) academic faculty appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor depending on qualifications. The incumbent will serve as the chief administrative officer of the department and as an advocate for the department’s academic, research, clinical, outreach, and service programs. The Department Head reports to the Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. The Head is responsible for leading and managing departmental staff and faculty with a scope of responsibilities including supporting clinical activities within the Large Animal Teaching Hospital; increasing contributions to knowledge and science through research; supporting excellence in professional and graduate education; fostering professional development and interdisciplinary collaboration; strengthening relationships with diverse stakeholder groups such as industry and legislative entities; promoting key outreach programs locally and across the state; collaborating with development to promote well-stewarded philanthropy, and continuing to build the Veterinary Educational Research and Outreach (VERO) partnership with West Texas A&M University (WTAMU). The position has significant administrative responsibilities, with some flexibility for teaching, research, and clinical activities based upon the interests and experience of the applicant.
The Texas A&M University Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences (https://vlcs.tamu.edu) is 1 of 5 departments in the highly ranked School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, which was founded in 1916. The department houses approximately 35 faculty members (including 2 endowed chairs) who are located on our College Station campus and at VERO in Canyon, Texas. Departmental faculty are very active in the delivery of all 4 years of our highly experiential and integrated Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) curriculum. They are also involved in supporting our VERO-based DVM 2+2 program. Pre-clinical training in College Station occurs within our Veterinary & Biomedical Education Complex (VBEC), a 330,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2016. VBEC is home to a variety of educational venues for lectures, laboratories, small group learning, and an array of hands-on skills training. This complex also houses the Center for Educational Technologies, which provides pedagogical support to faculty for teaching and learning. Our 34,000square-foot VERO facility was completed in 2020 on the campus of WTAMU in Canyon, Texas, and supports key research initiatives focused on the livestock industry in the Texas Panhandle as well as our DVM 2+2 program.
Clinical operations are based primarily in the Large Animal Teaching Hospital, which is totally climate-controlled with separate facilities for isolation and theriogenology cases as well as an intensive care unit. Clinical services in the hospital include equine orthopedic surgery, equine soft tissue surgery, equine internal medicine, equine community practice, equine sports medicine & imaging, equine theriogenology, and food animal medicine & surgery. Equine and food animal field services provide ambulatory services. The imaging facilities within the LA-VMTH include a dedicated ultrasonography room with numerous start-of-the art ultrasound units, 3 dedicated radiography rooms (3 digital radiograph units), and a full array of endoscopic equipment. There is an attached Diagnostic Imaging and Cancer Treatment Center which houses additional imaging equipment including a 3T Siemens Verio MRI, and a 40-slice Siemens computed tomography unit designed to accommodate both small animals and horses. The Department has over 25 interns and residents, with approved residency training programs in internal medicine, radiology, surgery, and theriogenology.
Areas of research emphasis in the department include infectious diseases, production medicine, reproductive biology, antimicrobial resistance, biosecurity, and imaging. Departmental faculty enjoy productive relationships throughout the Texas A&M University System and with other external collaborators. Extramural funding is acquired primarily from industry and the United States Department of Agriculture. The department has a robust graduate education program and engages undergraduate students in experiential learning of applied research.
Texas A&M University is one of the largest universities in the United States, with more than 73,000 students from all 50 states and 124 countries. It is supported by a multibillion‐dollar endowment (ranked 4th among public universities) and is a top-20 research enterprise. The community of Bryan-College Station (BCS), population 250,000, is a growing and diverse college town with a wide variety of cultural and recreational opportunities, excellent schools, and a relatively low cost of living. BCS is centered in the Texas Triangle, a megaregion consisting of the state’s 5 largest cities. The VERO Program is located in the Texas Panhandle, ,one of the most productive animal agricultural regions in the world. The Texas A&M University System has invested nearly $160 million in new facilities and programs at WTAMU to promote the future of agriculture and animal health in the region.