Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

LSU Vet School Debuts Pet Clinic with “Ribbon-Biting” Ceremony

  • By Matt Jones
  • 05/19/22

Officials from the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine in Baton Rouge, La., gathered on Monday, May 9, to celebrate the opening of the new Stephenson Pet Clinic. The facility measures in at 40,000 square feet and will serve as a home to companion animal wellness efforts as well as clinical services like community practice / primary care, integrative medicine, dermatology and ophthalmology, according to a press release.

Guests included Oliver Garden, LSU Vet Med dean; LSU President William Tate; and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. And the honors of the actual ribbon-cutting were given to Mac, a Belgian Malinois owned by a staff veterinary technician, who retrieved a toy attached to the ribbon.

The building was named after Emmet and Toni Stephenson, who pledged $25 million to LSU in 2007. The new pet clinic was constructed through a combination of state funds and $4 million from more than 300 individual donors, including the Stephensons. The existing Veterinary Medicine Building was built in 1978, and the new space will accommodate the school’s growth in enrollment, labs and reach of services since then.

“The generosity of Emmet and Toni Stephenson, and all the other donors who made this dream possible, will be memorialized in the rich legacy this wonderful facility will leave for generations to come," said Dean Garden. "The School of Veterinary Medicine is on a firm trajectory of growth in its missions of teaching, healing, discovering, and protecting – nobly serving Louisiana, the nation, and indeed the world. It is the honor of a lifetime to be at the helm of this outstanding veterinary school at this exciting time in our history.”

The facility was designed by Tipton Associates and BDA Architecture and also includes a 6,000-square-foot green roof terrace. The Stephenson Pet Clinic will open to the public in July.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Vanderbilt to Partner with ABM for Campus Preservation and Modernization

    Vanderbilt University recently announced that it has selected ABM Performance Solutions for a preservation and modernization project at its New York City campus, according to a news release. ABM will deliver its end-to-end ABM Performance Solutions (APS) model to manage critical operations during renovation and maintenance.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • NWEA Report Recommends K–12 Natural Disaster Recovery Strategies

    The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a K–12 assessment and research organization, recently announced the release of a new playbook for schools and communities recovering from extreme weather events, according to a news release.

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.