With the opening of a new building, Black College has added a new program. Thursday it celebrated the completion of the Veterinary Sciences Center on the east campus in Galva.
Executive Dean, Betsey Morthland, says the 7.8 million dollar center will allow Black Hawk to offer a degree program for veterinary assistants, and one for veterinary technicians.
"Because our east campus has such a strong presence nationally in agriculture, livestock, and crop sciences, we felt this was a natural fit for us."
In addition, the home pet industry is now worth billions of dollars.
Doctor Morthland says the veterinary assistant program started this fall with students on both the east and main campuses, while the vet tech major won't begin until the fall of next year (2017). She expects a lot of interest in both, locally and from across the country.
The Veterinary Sciences Center includes a teaching hospital, auditorium, classroom, labs, offices, and a detached animal ward.