Molecular biology to merge with Vet Med July 1

By Communications staff, Washington State University
PULLMAN — WSU’s School for Molecular Biology (SMB) will become an academic unit within the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) effective July 1.
 
SMB is currently within the WSU College of Sciences (COS) and is the recipient of the most National Institutes of Health funding in the WSU system.
 

Bayly

The merger has been discussed and planned for several months to ensure the move goes smoothly and with as little disruption as possible. Budgetary authority for SMB personnel and programs will be moved from the COS to CVM. COS will remain structured as it is with the exception of the move by SMB. Provost Warwick Bayly explains that the move was done to simply strengthen existing units in the university and not because of financial or administrative problems in any of the entities involved.

 
“This organizational change is exclusively a positive strategic move that is in Washington State University’s best interests now and in the future,” said Bayly.
 
Slinker

“Certainly, we are excited to welcome our colleagues in SMB to join us under the administrative umbrella of the College of Veterinary Medicine,” said Bryan Slinker, veterinary dean. “SMB is a mature, high functioning unit with a broad mission in basic life science, biomedical research, and undergraduate and graduate education. They are an excellent complement to many of those same features in the veterinary college. 

 
“Nothing about this merger will impact the effectiveness and progress SMB is capable of making and it takes nothing away from their legacy of research and academic success,” said Slinker. “They are without question effective, accomplished, and on sound financial footing to continue unabated. This merger strengthens two of WSU’s greatest assets.”
 
Approximately 30 faculty and more than 70 staff will make the administrative move and yet physically remain in the laboratories and offices they occupy now in the new Biotechnology Life Sciences building located northeast of Martin Stadium on the Pullman Campus. No curricular changes will be made either.
 
Such consolidations are not unusual as several of the nation’s veterinary colleges have made similar moves. Since its conceptualization, WSU’s administration has viewed the merger as presenting several advantages:
 
  • The consolidation broadens and strengthens WSU’s collective expertise in the design, delivery, and assessment of all the CVM’s education programs, including the DVM program. Among other things, SMB brings additional expertise in distance education and delivery of on-line course content.
  • The move facilitates easier ongoing collaborations and joint planning with a larger critical mass of excellent faculty and staff colleagues enhancing WSU’s internationally recognized leadership in life science research programs. 
  • A larger group of successful researchers ensures the university is positioned to be even more competitive for research grants and contracts.
  • Merged graduate education programs will be more effectively organized to attract and retain high quality graduate students and more effectively compete for training grants to support a thriving graduate education legacy.
  • When combined, the CVM will have a larger role in undergraduate education, adding B.S. degree programs in Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Genetics to its existing Neuroscience program.  These four undergraduate programs are important pipelines for student entry into the health professions, including veterinary medicine.
  • Overall, this consolidation and the synergies it creates provides a larger and more diverse funding base that will allow the “new” CVM to continue to thrive as public support for higher education continues to erode.
 
“I cannot overstate how important a step I think this for the future of our college and WSU,” said Slinker.