PHILADELPHIA -- Governor Tom Corbett’s FY2012-2013 Commonwealth budget proposes funding of $26.7 million for the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, the only veterinary  school in Pennsylvania and one of only 28 veterinary schools in the United States.  The recommended funding is equal to the support received for FY2011-2012.
 
In response to the proposal, Penn Vet Dean Joan Hendricks said, “On behalf of the faculty, staff and students of the School of Veterinary Medicine, I would like to thank Governor Corbett for his leadership and continued support of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. We appreciate that Governor Corbett recognizes the importance of Penn Vet to public health and safety as well as to the Commonwealth’s largest industry – Agriculture. We understand that Governor Corbett and the General Assembly face difficult challenges in finalizing this year’s budget.  We are appreciative for their support of Penn Vet during this process.”
 
As the only Vet School in the Commonwealth, Penn Vet plays a vital role in both Agriculture and Public Health across a range of areas from egg safety to protecting livestock and preventing infectious disease in animals and humans. Since 1887, more than 6,000 Veterinarians have graduated from Penn. Half of the School’s graduates remain in Pennsylvania to practice and nearly 75 percent of all the practicing veterinarians in Pennsylvania are graduates of Penn’s Vet School.