A department head with the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine has beenselected to fill a national role with the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians.

The AAVC has elected Ron McLaughlin, head of the college’s Department of Clinical Sciences, to serve as president. In this role, McLaughlin works with the organization to enhance the quality of veterinary instruction in the United States.

The AAVC was founded in 1958 to ensure that veterinary instruction through clinical teaching, service and research are held to high standards. The organization is made up of veterinary clinicians engaged in teaching and research at the professional, graduate and postgraduate levels.

As president, McLaughlin works with faculty in clinical departments at U.S. veterinary colleges, practices and institutions involved in educating veterinarians through internships and residencies.

“McLaughlin provides exemplary teaching and leadership here at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and we are proud he has taken on this role with the AAVC,” said Kent Hoblet, dean of MSU’s CVM.

McLaughlin said AAVC will continue its focus on enhancing the training of those entering the veterinary profession in many ways, especially through the Veterinary Internship and Matching Program.

“The matching program expedites the selection of residents and interns and is of great benefit to its participants,” McLaughlin said. “We are keeping the program streamlined and providing a matching system that is easy for students and faculty to use. The AAVC is also taking a leadership role in preparing clinical residents for faculty positions in academia, which helps ensure quality clinical training for the future.”

McLaughlin earned his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He completed his surgery residency at the Ontario Veterinary College, taught at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and worked in private practice before coming to MSU in 2000. McLaughlin took the department head position in 2006 and remains a professor and chief of small animal surgery