07/18/07 WSU President has vision for veterinary school

Washington Ag July 18, 2007 Washington State University's new President Elson Floyd says he is committed to making WSU's School of Veterinary Medicine a global school focused on animal health. Floyd points to bird flu as an example of the need to better understand the intersection between human health and animal health. And WSU has its vet school and the University of Washington its school of medicine. Floyd: "So with their initiative associated with global human health and our initiative associated with global animal health, what a wonderful combination. And it is indeed the intersection of the two that will redound to the benefit of everyone in this world if we do it properly. Think about it this way; we are now sitting in Pullman, Washington. Wouldn't it be absolutely marvelous to have what is tantamount to the Centers for Diseases Control here in Pullman focused on animal health." Floyd says he will need state and federal support to make that vision happen but says as the world becomes smaller that convergence between animal and human health becomes even more important. I'm Bob Hoff.