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

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • Geometric abstract school illustration

    How Design Shapes Learning and Success

    Can the color of a wall, the curve of a chair, or the hum of fluorescent lights really affect how a student learns? More schools are beginning to think so.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • restroom sinks

    CSU Dominguez Hills Standardizes Plumbing to Improve Restroom Maintenance and Efficiency

    At California State University, Dominguez Hills, facilities leaders have taken steps to standardize restroom fixtures as part of a broader effort to improve maintenance efficiency and control long-term costs.