Rutgers alumnus Matthew Edson (third from right), Founding Dean of Rowan University School of Veterinary Medicine, meets with early admit students to New Jersey first veterinary school, which welcomes its first matriculating class this fall. Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Edson.
The announcement in 2022 that Matthew Edson, Rutgers animal sciences graduate, would be the Founding Dean of the Rowan University School of Veterinary Medicine delighted his former Rutgers professors. New facilities at the school, including a specialty/referral hospital that will be open to the public, will be complete late summer 2025, and ready to welcome the school’s first cohort of 41 New Jersey residents and 34 out-of-state students.
Carol Bagnell, professor and then chair of the Department of Animal Sciences at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), taught Matthew as an undergraduate, and was among the first to congratulate him on his appointment.
“We are very proud of you, as a 2007 graduate of our program, for providing the leadership for this very exciting initiative. It doesn’t seem too long ago that you were a student on the Cook-Douglass campus,” she wrote to Matthew. “It is very rewarding to see your success in establishing an award-winning veterinary practice and now leading this ground-breaking effort in veterinary medical education.”
Matthew Edson (CC’07), founding dean, Rowan University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Animal Science is the largest undergraduate major at SEBS and the possibilities of finding areas to partner with the Rowan University School of Veterinary Medicine was very much at the top of Bagnell’s mind and succeeding leadership of the SEBS Department of Animal Sciences. Matthew is in a position to facilitate such potential partnerships as the founding dean of the vet school, and he touches on this aspiration as he shared his journey as a Rutgers animal science undergraduate to his new leadership role in veterinary medicine in the state.
What drew you to Rutgers and the animal sciences program, in particular?
I was pretty sure I was on the path to veterinary school early on, so the strength of the animal science program and hands-on nature of the experiences offered at Rutgers were a big plus. With a lot to do on the farm at home, the proximity was important as well. I think one of the biggest drivers was the connection between the school and Rutgers Cooperative Extension. I had experienced elements of Rutgers through 4-H, which gave me a good impression of then Cook College, now SEBS.
Do any classes or experiences stand out as very impactful to your post-undergrad or career choices?
Taking the 3-day “Dairy Cattle Artificial Insemination” that the animal science department offered in conjunction with Genex, an organization that provides genetic and reproductive solutions to the dairy and beef cattle industry, was a great experience. It allowed us to apply some of the book knowledge we had learned to a real-life, clinical-type experience. I also really enjoyed “Principles of Integrative Physiology” with Dr. Henry John-Alder, professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources.
Have you been back to campus since you graduated?
As an alumnus, I welcome any opportunity to share my journey in veterinary medicine and support of the students in the animal sciences program. I’ve been back on campus to speak to the pre-veterinary club a few years in a row and was also back once to judge state 4-H public presentations at Hickman Hall.
After graduating from Rutgers, you headed to the Midwest to get your degree in veterinary medicine. What was that transition like?
One of the reasons I picked Kansas State was the small town the school was in and because the folks I met there during interviews were so nice. Feeling “at home” in that respect made the transition much easier. Academically, veterinary school is certainly more demanding in some respects than undergraduate, mostly due to the volume of information and number of concurrent classes. I think the undergraduate program at Rutgers did a great job of preparing us for veterinary school. During the first year of vet school, many of the classes seemed like a review of much of the content from my program at Rutgers, which made adjusting much easier as it didn’t seem nearly as overwhelming having covered that material before.
Matthew Edson with wife Jenna, MSW graduate of Rutgers-Camden, and their dogs Frankie and Shadow.
How would you describe your journey to this point in your career?
It’s been an interesting path from Rutgers to vet school to private practice and back into academic veterinary medicine. Without the foundation from my time in the animal sciences program at Rutgers, I doubt I’d be in this position today. When I graduated from K-State, I already had plans to return home to start a practice in my hometown. What started out as an ambulatory large animal practice (just me, my dog Cody, and a toolbox full of supplies driving my old pickup truck from farm to farm around South Jersey) has grown into a multi-location, multi-doctor, mixed animal practice. When I started to get involved with the vet school project at Rowan a couple years ago I didn’t do so thinking I’d be making a career change back into academia, but the opportunity to participate in the start of such a unique program that’s so needed in our state wasn’t something I could pass up.
When and how did you become involved in the process that led to the launch of the first school of veterinary medicine in New Jersey?
Several years ago, Rowan began to explore the idea of starting a veterinary school and reached out to the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association (NJVMA) for input. I was the NJVMA President at that time, so I was involved in those initial discussions. I’ve been able to develop a strong network of other veterinary professionals in NJ during my years in practice and my experience serving as a site visitor for the AVMA’s vet school accrediting body gave me insight on the need to establish and maintain a veterinary program, so I became more and more engaged in the project. I started as a consultant for Rowan during the feasibility study portion and after a year or so, it was decided that the project was truly moving forward. I was offered the Founding Dean position at that point and started in that role in June 2021.
Broadly, what were some of the challenges you and colleagues faced in bringing this vision to fruition?
There are endless challenges to starting a program of this scale and we’ll continue to have more as we progress. Most of the newer veterinary programs in the U.S. are distributive, meaning most of the student clinical training is provided at partner facilities outside of the school itself. We wanted to keep more of the clinical experiences in-house, which involves not only starting a school but starting a teaching hospital as well. We’re planning a hybrid program where the majority of the clinical experiences will be in our clinical facilities with our faculty with a smaller portion of the clinical experiences at outside clinical partner sites. Keeping the cost of veterinary education affordable for students is challenging as well, but that’s something that’s always in our minds while planning every aspect of this program.
At the time, how did you view the impact of the founding of the first such school in the state?
For too long, New Jersey residents have had to compete for limited out-of-state seats and pay much more expensive out-of-state tuition rates in order to attend veterinary school. Student debt and a shortage of veterinary staff are both major issues in our profession right now. Offering an in-state tuition option will help to reduce student debt for graduates and keep those new doctors in New Jersey when they finish their program. I think this will be a great addition for our state, both from an educational standpoint and for the clinical resources and research opportunities it will provide.
You’ve now been in the role of founding dean for several years, what are some of the early milestones and impact that you’ve observed?
The opportunity to build a new veterinary program from scratch has been the experience of a lifetime. We’re very lucky to have an excellent team of staff and faculty here that have put in a tremendous amount of work getting the program off the ground. In October 2024, the school received accreditor approval to admit our first class, which will begin classes this fall. We’ve starting equine and large animal clinical services throughout southern NJ, have been providing spay/neuter services for local shelter animals, and began outreach clinic services for low-income individuals and their pets in Camden. Our STEM education center for preschool through high school students is starting operations in Mount Laurel and we’re looking forward to beginning clinical services in our hospital and welcoming New Jersey’s first class of veterinary students this fall. It’s certainly been a busy, yet very exciting time.
Can you share broadly what’s planned for graduates who wish to enroll?
DVM students in our program should expect an integrated program in which we emphasize clinical and professional skills education from the start of the program. We’re very focused on ensuring we prepare competent and confident new veterinarians at graduation, with equal attention given to their ability to practice clinically, their ability to communicate with clients and colleagues, and other skills including practice management and regulatory knowledge. We offer a wide range of elective courses for students to pursue individual interests including wildlife medicine, practice management, honeybee medicine, emergency/critical care, and many more. Accelerated degree programs such as a joint DVM/MBA with Rowan’s Rohrer College of Business are available, including an accelerated program for those who have already completed a DVM degree. The application for next year’s entering class is already available through VMCAS, so we encourage anyone who is interested to apply. Admissions requirement information is available at our website at www.rowan.edu/svm for those who are interested in finding out more.
