OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY VETERINARY MEDICINE AUTHORITY

The OSU Veterinary Medicine Authority convened a regular meeting at 10:00am on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in the Alumni Conference Room, McElroy Hall, OSU College of Veterinary Medicine, 115 McElroy Hall, Stillwater, OK.

Notice of the meeting was provided to the Oklahoma Secretary of State consistent with the open meetings guidelines, and the agenda was posted at 115 McElroy Hall prior to the meeting in compliance with the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.

Meeting Minutes

1. Call to Order, Acknowledgement of Meeting Filing and Establishment of a Quorum
   • Chair Arthur called the meeting to order at 10:01am. A quorum was established.
   • PRESENT: Blayne Arthur, L. D. Barker, Joe Hall, Jerry Ritchey, Troy Shelby, Jimmy Harrel, Jeff
     Stroup
   • ABSENT: None
2. Discussion and Possible Vote for the Approval of Minutes of the January 27, 2026 Meeting of the Authority
   • Chair Arthur asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the January 27, 2026 Authority meeting.
   • Motion to approve the minutes was made by Jerry Ritchey and seconded by Joe Hall.
   • AYES -Arthur, Barker, Hall, Ritchey, Harrel and Shelby
   • NAYS-None
3. Report and Overview of OSU - President Jim Hess
   • President Hess was unable to attend.
4. Report and Overview of College of Veterinary Medicine Status-Interim Dean Jerry Ritchey
   1. Status and update report on the College of Veterinary Medicine
   2. Report on Rural Veterinary Scholarships
      • Interim Dean Ritchey welcomed three new faculty members and asked them to introduce themselves.
      • He presented a power point to provide an update to the board:
        • The Accreditation Report was good and the College remains fully accredited. As new hospital plans become available, they will be shared with the accreditation team.
        • Scholarships have been awarded to 18 7 recipients this year. The total amount awarded was $854,677. These scholarships are separate from the Lee Denney Scholarships.
        • Class of 2030 Admissions -60 of 69 resident spots have been filled and 27 or 37 nonresident spots have been filled.
        • Each year, the College of Vet Med offers an Admitted Student Day. This year they offered several Admitted Student Days which allowed for smaller group meetings and made it more personable. In total, 269 guests attended.
        • Admissions: Looking Ahead -The plan is to keep the same ratio of 65% resident and 35% non-resident but slowly increase the percentage of resident students in the near future.
        • Dr. Rudd has applied for a USDA grant for $300,000 which would encourage students from rural areas who want to become veterinarians.
        • The percentage of graduates from OSU going into large animal medicine is larger than the national average.
        • Dr. Ritchey presented the latest Teaching Hospital Design. There will be a meeting on April 30 to focus on the food animal area and look at the elevation. After this meeting, Dr. Ritchey will send updates to Authority members.
        • Four new Field Service mobile units have been ordered.
        • The Teaching Hospital continues to have an increase in consultations. There were 16,710 in 2024/2025 and 18,070 so far in 2025/2026.
        • The Review Tree survey shows many positive reviews from clients.
        • Dr. Ritchey presented the latest hiring update. Several positions are in the interview stage, with several more waiting for replies from offers.
        • Dr. Ritchey welcomed the new Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Richard Prather.
        • College of Vet Med was well represented at the AAVMC (American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges) and at the Capitol Cowboys event in Oklahoma City.
        • The annual Transition Ceremony was held for 3"1 year students. The event was dedicated to Dr. Dan Burba.
        • College of Vet Med hosted FFA State Championship Chair Arthur thanked Dr. Ritchey for his service as interim Dean and welcomed Dr. Prather as the new Dean.
5. Chief Executive Officer's Report and Possible Action Items
   1. Discussion and report on the request for funding from the Oklahoma Legislature for the 2026-2027 year and legislative items
      • Dr. Stroup presented the 2026 legislative session information sheets. The FY26 appropriation was $23,301,532 and the FY27 appropriation was $39,689,532.
      • The two requests for the 2026 session were for the LCF payment of $12,500,000 and $3,888,000 to increase in-state student enrollment. The LCF payments were approved. The legislature asked for more information for the in-state student request. They would like to see how the current trends go before revisiting.
      • The LCF fund for $2,000,000 per year for 20 years (40M total) for the Agronomy facility was also approved.
      • The Elk Population Study and Management Act is still pending (SB330).
      • SB1177 (GA Bill) providing $37,801,532 to the OSUVMA has been signed.
      • OSUVMA will have three LCF projects to manage separately. Dr. Stroup thanked members of the Authority for their efforts towards securing this funding.
   2. Report and update on new Animal Teaching Hospital
      • Dr. Stroup presented the timeline for issuing construction documents. The timeline shows goals for each stage of development. The committee will continue to meet every other week and will provide periodic updates to the Authority.
   3. Report on the renovation at the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostics Laboratory (OADDL)
      • Dr. Stroup reported that May 5th is the goal for completion of the construction document. The work continues to stay within the amount budgeted.
      • A request was made for a full report from Phil Thomas from Long Range Facilities Planning to be given at our next board meeting on both the New Teaching Hospital and OADDL renovations.
   4. Report and possible action on architectural expenses paid since January 27, 2026.
      • No payments made -
        • Dr. Stroup reported that no payments for architectural expenses were made since January 27, 2026.
        • Total payments made (8/6/24 to 3/31/26) total $314,284.09. Approval is requested to make additional payments that may occur prior to the next meeting of the Authority. Any payments authorized by the CEO will be reported to the Authority at their next meeting.
      • Dr. Stroup reported the total payments made through March 31, 2026 are $314,284.09. He asked the board for a motion to authorize him, as the CEO, to approve any future payments between now and the next meeting of the Authority.
      • A motion for the CEO to approve additional payments for expenses that may occur prior to the next Authority meeting was made by Joe Hall and seconded by Troy Shelby.
      • AYES -Arthur, Barker, Hall, Ritchey, Harrel and Shelby
      • NAYS-None
        • Report on debt service payments to date to the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority.
      • Dr. Stroup shared the LCF report showing the monthly debits and the amount remaining to be paid for the year. We will need to have separate reports for each of the LCF funds that have been approved.
        
   5. Financial Report for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Authority restricted funds as of March 51, 2026 - Kristi Howey
      
      • Dr. Stroup introduced Kristi Howey for the presentation of the financial report of the Authority restricted funds for the College of Veterinary Medicine. Kristi's report shows the amount spent on Rural Scholarship/Loan Forgiveness awards and the carryforward amount of $400,000 which is the encumbered amount to be paid to students per their scholarship schedule. Scholarships were awarded to 10 students for 2026 and 4 students for 2027.
        
      • The Operational Support budget shows the amount received from the Authority and the normal expenditures. TI1e salary amount is lower because of unfilled positions. The contractual services amount is higher due to the hiring of LOCUMs to fill the positions temporarily. The equipment amount is higher because they are using car1yforward funds to purchase equipment needed now for the teaching hospital and for the 4 new mobile units.
        
   6. Financial Report of the Authority as of March 51, 2026 - Kristi Howey
      
      • Kristi presented the Financial Report of the Authority. The expense total of $514,284 represents payments made in the design phase of the capital improvement project for the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
        
   7. OSUVMA Audit Update - Jeff Stroup
      
      • Dr. Stroup reported that there was nothing concerning in the OSUVMA audit.
        
      • Michelle Finley, Chief Audit Executive for the Board of Regents, said it was a good report. 
      • Adjournment
        
      • Chair Arthur asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
        
      • Motion to adjourn made by Joe Hall seconded by Jimmy Harrel. The meeting was adjourned at 10:52 am.
        

Meeting Minutes signed by Oklahoma State University Veterinary Medicine Authority Vice-Chair Joe Hall.

If you would like a copy of these minutes, please reach out to Karen Castle at karen.castle@okstate.edu.