Strategy

The Department of Veterinary Medicine on the University’s West Cambridge Site is a large, multidisciplinary department hosting small animal and equine hospitals and farm animal clinical services, alongside cutting edge scientific research. These different facets combine to train our outstanding veterinary and postgraduate students.  The veterinary profession has changed profoundly in the last 15 years with general practices, and increasingly specialist referral centres, mostly integrated into large corporate businesses.  The importance of public health, in the wake of a zoonotic global pandemic and climate change transforming the infectious diseases seen in both animals and humans, means it is vital our students are trained to thrive in this changing world.   To meet these challenges Cambridge integrates a unique third year into the veterinary course where students specialise in one of the many opportunities provided by the wider university, for example in science, conservation, policy or management. Our graduates are, therefore, fully trained veterinarians ideally placed for diverse careers not only in general, referral or academic clinical practice, but also in conservation, government or industry.

The Department is led by Professor Mark Holmes, assisted by the three Deputy Heads; Professor Jane Dobson (Teaching and Clinical Dean), Professor Julian Parkhill (Research), Professor Clare Bryant (Strategy), along with Matthew Moon (Hospital Managing Director), and the Business & Operations Manager (Alex Drury).  Each area of the Department is managed by a leadership committee (Research, Teaching, Hospital Business and Administration), composed of both senior and more junior members of staff to ensure succession planning, which reports into the Strategy and Executive Committee.  The Head and Deputy Heads of Department usually serve for five-year terms that are renewable with the explicit agreement of the senior leadership team and the staff.  In practice, most senior leadership positions continue in these roles for longer than five years, helping to provide a strong and cohesive senior leadership team for the Department, facilitating a long-term strategic vision. The Business & Operations Manager maintains a list of the Departmental, School and University Committees on which academics and other senior staff serve.  Active consideration is given at each nomination opportunity to ensure that a wide range of academics have the opportunity to contribute to University governance. 

Within the Department, earlier career Faculty and researchers have the opportunity to contribute to Departmental decision-making via open Departmental meetings and research “Away Days”.  Our visiting review committees (which provide peer review regularly across the Department) and our future Scientific Advisory Board are/will be always invited to talk with early career researchers and reflect their input in the review reports.  The Department is successful in securing individuals on Intermediate/Senior Fellows on national funding schemes so this helps to balance the demographic of later career academics with the next generation.  The equality and diversity committee provides a channel for more general concerns to be raised about how the Department is run, and the facilities available, and how these can be modified to enable equitable participation.  Active postgraduate and postdoctoral committees are encouraged.