(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) August 7, 2012—Dr. Douglas G. Aspros was installed today as president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) during the Association’s 149th Annual Convention.
“I’m looking forward to celebrating the AVMA’s 150th birthday next year, which to me represents the birth of the modern veterinary profession in America. But I know that with the rising cost of education and other changes facing the profession, there is a lot of work to do. I’m excited to be leading AVMA in a time of both triumph and turmoil,” says Dr. Aspros. “We’re still a close knit profession, and it’ll be great to have an opportunity to visit friends—old and new—across the country and around the world during my year as AVMA president.”
Dr. Aspros spoke before the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) about some of the challenges that he felt the profession faces that he’d like to address during his presidency. Not only are veterinary student loans increasing (on average over $140,000 for new graduates from veterinary schools) but the profession is being challenged by competition from websites and online pharmacies. He also voiced support for the AVMA’s efforts to increase diversity in the veterinary profession.
Dr. Aspros, a companion-animal practitioner from Pound Ridge, N.Y., is a 1975 graduate of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Aspros was elected to the AVMA Executive Board in 2006 as a representative of veterinarians in New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont and spent two years as the AVMA Executive Board vice chair. Prior to his term on the Executive Board, Dr. Aspros served six years on the AVMA Council on Education, which included serving as the council’s chair.
In 1985, Dr. Aspros became the first veterinarian in New York to be appointed to the Westchester County Board of Health. He has served as president of the board, elected by his peers, since 1994, directing initiatives addressing emerging threats and core public health programs.
He has also been active in local and state veterinary organizations, serving as president, treasurer, and two-term board member of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society (NYSVMS), and served as president of the Westchester-Rockland Veterinary Medical Association.
Dr. Aspros has also received a number of professional awards. He received the National Association of Local Boards of Health Award in 2004, the NYSVMS honored him as 2000 Veterinarian of the Year, and he was honored as Northeast Region Practitioner of the Year in 1999 by the American Animal Hospital Association.
For more information, please visit www.avma.org.
The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world, with more than 82,500 member veterinarians worldwide engaged in a wide variety of professional activities and dedicated to the art and science of veterinary medicine.