AMES, Iowa -- The new Dr. W. Eugene and Linda Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine will be dedicated at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18. The dedication event will be held outside of the medical center on the east side of the new complex.
The 108,000-square-foot addition to the veterinary college increases space by 25 percent and features equine and food animal diagnosis areas, treatment and surgery suites, patient wards, advanced imaging facilities, an intensive care unit, an isolation unit, and new patient entry, reception and waiting areas. Faculty offices are included on the second floor, and an area of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory was also renovated.
The project is the first part of a two-phase expansion program that will significantly increase capabilities for the 32-year-old hospital. The second phase includes updating the spaces occupied by services that are relocating to the new facility.
"This addition significantly improves our ability to serve the growing health needs of Iowa's livestock and equine industries, and provides an outstanding resource for our students and faculty to develop the practice of veterinary medicine in a modern, safe learning environment," said Dr. John U. Thomson, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. "Completing Phase I and beginning Phase II are critical turning points in our ability to better serve our many constituent groups and the profession of veterinary medicine."
The center is named for Dr. W. Eugene and Linda Lloyd, who pledged $3.5 million to the project. The Lloyds are long-time supporters of the veterinary college, having endowed two faculty positions and established the Lloyd Fund for Veterinary Medicine. Eugene received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from ISU in 1949 and a Ph. D. in veterinary pathology in 1970.
Other funding for the $48 million project came from the State of Iowa and other private support.
"The generosity of the Lloyds has significantly moved the college forward in fulfilling its goal of remaining a top-tier veterinary institution. The impact on students, faculty, clients and the profession is huge," said Thomson.
The new space accommodates class sizes that are being increased to meet the national demand for veterinarians, particularly in food supply veterinary medicine. The project also increases the resources of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, the only diagnostic laboratory charged with safeguarding Iowa's almost $9 billion animal agricultural industry, with the completion of a new biosecurity unit within the existing building.
The ceremony will include a welcome from Dan Saftig, president of the Iowa State University Foundation; and remarks from Thomson, Gregory Geoffroy, president of Iowa State University; W. Eugene and Linda Lloyd, and Dan Taylor, a third-year veterinary student and president of the student chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Private support to this project was made as part of Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose, the university's $800 million comprehensive fundraising effort.