Dr. Glen Hoffsis named founding dean of A-State’s veterinary school

Dr. Glen Hoffsis has been named as the founding dean for Arkansas State University’s upcoming College of Veterinary Medicine, Chancellor Todd Shields said.

Hoffsis has served as dean of two of the nation’s largest vet colleges, Ohio State University and University of Florida, and recently guided the creation of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.

“We are thrilled that we could bring Dean Hoffsis back into higher education to help guide the launch of our program at Arkansas State,” Shields said. “His reputation as both an academician and veterinary researcher is outstanding, and we are confident his connections and knowledge within the field will be a major asset in our goal of educating more veterinarians for our state and region.”

Along with providing day-to-day leadership as A-State continues its pathway toward accreditation and opening, Hoffsis will guide the university’s search for its permanent dean. The search committee and announcement will be released in the coming weeks.

“Glen has been a tremendous resource to us in our planning and preparation, and we are extremely excited that he has agreed to join us in this next stage of our process,” Interim Provost Dr. Len Frey said.

Hoffsis has most recently worked in private consulting after leading the establishment of the CVM at LMU. He was instrumental in designing the academic program and facilities. He negotiated a unique cooperative agreement with the University of Kentucky diagnostic lab and Gluck Equine Research Center, and gained accreditation from the AVMA Council on Education.

Prior to LMU, Hoffsis was the CVM dean at University of Florida for seven years where he initiated and completed construction of a new small animal hospital and developed an innovative veterinary student enrollment expansion program.

He served for a decade as dean at Ohio State University, leading his alma mater to an eventual top-five national ranking among veterinary colleges. Prior to service as the CVM dean, Hoffsis served in several administrative positions including hospital director, head of the food animal medicine and surgery section, and associate director of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. He gained Board Certification by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Among his private sector experiences, he was associate director for veterinary services for the Iams Company, a division of Mars, Inc., and served on the board of directors of Banfield Pet Hospitals, one of the nation’s largest private pet hospital conglomerates, also owned by Mars, Inc.