Rowan University officials said it is too early to fully announce the first and only veterinary school in New Jersey.

But the governor’s office let go of cats last week and announced that it would provide more than $90 million in funding for Rowan University’s projects, including a veterinary college.

There are only 32 accredited veterinary colleges in the United States and only 19 internationally. 

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Although Garden State has a deep-rooted agricultural history, there is no veterinary school in New Jersey. The nearest veterinary school is located at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. 

"There is an opportunity there," Rowan University spokesperson Joe Cardona told The Courier Post this week. 

The New Jersey Governor’s Office announced at the end of November that New Jersey had allocated $435 million from the New Jersey State Debt Relief and Prevention Fund for several construction projects in South Jersey.

Other funding projects include US$35 million to upgrade the facilities of the South Jersey Port Company; US$265 million to the New Jersey Wind Harbor Economic Development Bureau located in Lower Alover Creek; and US$45 million to the Department of Transportation for Wind Harbor dredging.

Of Rowan’s US$90 million grant, US$15 million will be used to support the expansion of Rowan University’s Cooper School of Medicine in Camden, and US$75 million will be used for the state’s so-called "Rowan University College of Veterinary Medicine."

Cardona cautioned that the university "is not ready to publish the full picture of the Veterinary Medical School."  

Although Rowan University is still in the early stages of the development of a veterinary school, Cardona said that national seed funding will help "make everything go smoothly."

State funds will support the development of physical facilities and educational programs there. 

"It's still in the investigation and development stage," Cardona.

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In 2019, Rowan University worked with Vineland City officials to study whether veterinarians in Cumberland County are feasible there. The study looked at the need for such a facility in southern New Jersey and where the facility will be located in the city. The former Newcomb Hospital was a potential location at the time.

Three years later, the few specific plans that Rowan made for a veterinary school changed. 

According to Sandy Forosisky, Director of Economics and Community Development at Vineland, Sewell was instead seen as a candidate for the home of the veterinary school.

This funding was obtained in the face of a shortage of veterinarians across the country. Pets in New Jersey are particularly dangerous because of the lack of animal doctors in the state. 

Carly Q. Romalino is a native of Gloucester County and has been covering South Jersey since 2008. She graduated from Rowan University and won the New Jersey Press Association Award six times. 

Romalino works at Courier Post and reports on school and education issues in Southern New Jersey for Courier Post, Daily Journal, and Burlington County Times.

She hosts NJ Press Pass, a live interview show based on social media that delves into what is important to the residents of South Jersey. 

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