ORANGE PARK – Lincoln Memorial University is pursuing accreditation for a second College of Veterinary Medicine and has named Kim Carney, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, CPH, CHES, its founding Dean.

The university has initiated the accreditation process with the American Veterinary Medical Association Commission on Education and will host a consultative site visit later this year.

LMU purchased two adjacent buildings with 130,000 square feet off Wells Road at the Plaza At Wells Lake. The university is exploring moving several of its successful academic programs to the location to further LMU’s mission of providing educational opportunities to communities in Appalachia and beyond. LMU-College of Veterinary Medicine Orange Park will be one of the new programs based at the institution’s newest learning site.

As the founding Dean, Carney will be responsible for shepherding the endeavor through accreditation, adopting a curriculum, recruiting faculty and staff and coordinating with the LMU-Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine (LMU-CVM) as the new college develops.

“We are developing an innovative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at Orange Park that an innovative leader will oversee,” said Stacy Anderson, DVM, PhD, DACVS-LA, the Dean of the LMU-Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine on the main campus in Harrogate, Tennessee.

Carney worked for LMU-CVM for six years in roles as professor and administrator. Carney’s vast experience includes serving as a long-term missionary in Bolivia, working in veterinary student ministry through didactic and practical courses and wet labs taught at Universidad Autonoma Gabriel Rene Moreno as well as rural development projects through partnerships with other ministries, and operating a veterinary practice in Harrogate for nearly 13 years.

“I am excited to lead the development of a new College of Veterinary Medicine in Orange Park, Florida,” Carney said. “With the experience and knowledge we’ve gained in the nearly 10 years since the first students entered the Lincoln Memorial University-Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine in Harrogate, I am confident that we can create an innovative program to serve the veterinary needs of our global community from our new proposed location in Florida.”

Carney earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (cum laude) at the University of Georgia in 2001, a Master of Public Health in Community Health at East Tennessee State University in 2021, a Graduate Certificate in Global Health at ETSU in 2021, and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture/Animal Health (magna cum laude) from UGA in 1999. She is currently a PhD student in the Higher Education Administration program at the University of Tennessee.

There are 33 veterinary schools in 28 states. The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges projects the need for another 41,000 veterinarians by 2030.

The AVMA Council on Education accredits DVM or equivalent educational programs. The AVMA COE assures all AVMA-accredited colleges of veterinary medicine meet minimum standards in veterinary medical education and that students enrolled in those colleges receive an education that will prepare them for entry-level positions in the profession. Learn more at AVMA.org.

Lincoln Memorial University is a values-based learning community dedicated to providing educational experiences in the liberal arts and professional studies. The LMU-Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine is located on LMU’s main campus in Harrogate, Tennessee, with additional academic facilities in nearby Lee County, Virginia. LMU-CVM is an integral part of the university’s medical programs and provides real-world, community-based education in a collaborative learning environment. For more information, visit vetmed.LMUnet.edu.