To honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Dr. Allen Cannedy, director for Diversity and Multicultural affairs at the North Caroline State University (NSCU) College of Veterinary Medicine, visited the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine to present “My Future, Our World: One Veterinarian’s Perspective on the Future of the Profession and its Connection to Our World.”
The main topic of Dr. Cannedy’s seminar was diversity and inclusion in the veterinary medical profession and American history. “Veterinary medicine is the least diverse of all health care professions,” says Cannedy. “It is important for each institution to determine what their definition of diversity is. Why don’t we have more diversity and inclusion within the veterinary medical profession?” asks Cannedy.
At NCSU, Cannedy polled groups of veterinary students to address the most common myths and misconception as to why the veterinary medical profession struggles with attracting diverse populations.
Most of the questions that Cannedy asked, and the open discussion that attendees participated in regarding these questions, related to access to opportunities that certain populations have and others don’t. With Cannedy’s direction and historical input, attendees concluded that perhaps without access to opportunities, some of the most influential people in the world—and within the veterinary medical profession—would not be as successful as they were.
Diversity allows for enriched environments
Some of these historical individuals within the veterinary profession include Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb and Dr. Shirley Johnston. Webb was the first woman of color to earn her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in the United States. After earning DVM from Tuskegee Institute (now University) in 1949, Webb pursued her masters in anatomy at MSU. Johnston, another Tuskegee graduate, was the first woman to graduate from Tuskegee University in 1949. She also was the first woman to be a dean of a college of veterinary medicine. These women paved the way for women in the veterinary medical profession, which can be observed now by the large female presence within the profession.
In the past, the ratio of men to women in veterinary medicine was predominantly male, but now, it is predominantly female. Historically, the profession has included a relatively low percentage of minorities. In recent years, minority presence in the veterinary medical profession has increased to 16 percent. While this statistic may seem low, it signifies the main point of Cannedy’s discussion: the importance of encouraging diversity and inclusion.
“Diversity allows for enriched environments,” says Cannedy. “I would like to challenge everyone to create access for opportunities by contributing [to diversity and inclusion] in ways that no one has done before. By using creativity and imagination, we can find ways to make additional advances within the veterinary medical profession that have the power to improve the diversity of the profession and the world.”