May 16, 2018

UA's Proposed College of Veterinary Medicine Names Assistant Dean

TUCSON, Ariz. — Veterinarian Jim Maciulla has joined the staff of the University of Arizona's proposed College of Veterinary Medicine as assistant dean for clinical relations and outreach.

Maciulla's duties will include overseeing all phases of the off-campus clinical rotations of third-year veterinary students. He will lead efforts to recruit and maintain partnerships with regional veterinarians, and assure student learning outcomes are achieved and measurable in the hybrid distributed clinical education model.

Maciulla, a Tucson native, graduated from the UA with B.S. and M.S. degrees in animal science before attending veterinary school at Colorado State University. He returned to Arizona to start his career, and most recently owned and managed Continental Animal Wellness Center, PC, a successful mixed-animal practice in Flagstaff, Arizona. On May 17, the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association will honor Maciulla with its Distinguished Service Award, which is given to a veterinarian who has made exceptional contributions to the veterinary community and the profession.

"The assistant dean of clinical relations and outreach is a critical position for the College of Veterinary Medicine," said Interim Dean Dave Besselsen. "Jim has a highly qualified background for this type of position. He's been extremely active in the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association and recently served as its president. He has a built-in network of colleagues and has earned a high level of respect from the veterinary community in Arizona."

"I'm really excited to bring together the community of practitioners throughout the region to help us with this vision and accomplish our goals," Maciulla said. "My No. 1 focus is going to be to graduate competent, day one, ready-to-practice veterinarians that fit the needs of the state."

The UA's proposed College of Veterinary Medicine is designed as an in-depth, year-round curriculum that will graduate students in three years, allowing them to enter the workforce a year earlier than traditional programs. UA students are expected to have a wide range of clinical experiences with all species in university, private and public settings through partnerships with clinical affiliates, many of which will be recruited by Maciulla.

"I want to hit the ground running and engage in fostering these clinical relationships throughout the Southwestern U.S.," Maciulla said. "Our goal is for employers to be proud to hire a UA graduate with a DVM degree because they know they're going to be financially literate, they're going to be clinically competent and they're going to be positive forces within those practices from day one."

The American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education will conduct a site visit to the UA in May 2019. If provisional accreditation is granted, the UA will have the only public veterinary school in Arizona, which is facing a shortage of veterinarians in several regions.
 

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Attached photo for editorial use with credit given to the University of Arizona.

Media Contact:
Stacy Pigott
UA Communications
520-626-4405
spigott@email.arizona.edu

Established in 1885, the University of Arizona, the state's super land-grant university with two medical schools, produces graduates who are real-world ready through its 100% Engagement initiative. Recognized as a global leader and ranked 16th for the employability of its graduates, the UA is also a leader in research, bringing more than $622 million in research investment each year, and ranking 21st among all public universities. The UA is advancing the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships, and is a member of the Association of American Universities, the 62 leading public and private research universities. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $8.3 billion annually.