Texas A&M Breaks Ground On State-Of-The-Art Small Animal Teaching Hospital
Facility will expand access to advanced veterinary care, support cutting-edge research and train the next generation of veterinary leaders.
Linda and Dennis Clark, Dean John August, Texas A&M Provost Alan Sams, Texas A&M University System incoming Chancellor Glenn Hegar, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Chairman Bob Albritton, Texas A&M Foundation President and CEO Tyson Voelkel and Associate Dean of Hospital Operations Stacy Eckman hold shovels behind a dirt pit at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Linda & Dennis Clark ’68 Small Animal Teaching Hospital.
The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) celebrated the groundbreaking of the Linda & Dennis Clark ’68 Small Animal Teaching Hospital on June 6, commemorating the beginning of a new chapter for veterinary medicine in Texas.
Leaders from The Texas A&M University System and the Texas A&M Foundation joined key donors and VMBS leadership, faculty and staff in celebrating this milestone and recognizing the many individuals who have been instrumental in the Clark Hospital’s progress.
“[The Linda and Dennis Clark Small Animal Teaching Hospital] is not just another building,” said Robert L. “Bob” Albritton, chairman of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. “It’s a statement of confidence in what’s already the best veterinary program in the nation and a bold step forward for its future.”
Scheduled to open in August 2027, the facility will continue the VMBS’ tradition of educational excellence, advanced patient care and groundbreaking research across 15 veterinary specialties, enhancing the college’s ability to contribute to the well-being of animals and human beings alike.
“This new facility will allow our students and faculty to serve even more Texas families — and their four-legged loved ones — with the very best care in the world,” said John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.
As part of the state’s only veterinary teaching hospital and Texas A&M’s largest educational laboratory, the 135,000-square-foot facility will have double the number of surgical suites and exam rooms, with additional space allocated for the hospital’s Emergency Service and Intensive Care Unit, the busiest areas of the hospital.
“The Clark Small Animal Teaching Hospital will enhance Texas A&M’s capacity to train future veterinarians, addressing the growing demand for veterinary service in the state,” said Glenn Hegar, Texas comptroller and the incoming chancellor for the Texas A&M University System. “The facility will serve as a hub for advanced research and innovation in veterinary medicine, contributing to improved animal health and public health outcomes.”
The Clark Hospital will be on the corner of Agronomy Road and Raymond Stotzer Parkway, where Veterinary Medical Sciences Building 507 previously stood and approximately 500 feet from the current Small Animal Teaching Hospital.
The hospital’s fundraising campaign was announced in March 2023 when building namesakes Linda and Dennis Clark ’68 ’71 pledged the lead $20 million gift.
Linda and Dennis Clark with Dean August.
“This is a great honor for Linda and I to be a part of this and to be completely involved with a wonderful project and to know the great things that will come out of the care and research that is going to go on behind the walls of the building that is going to be constructed behind us,” Dennis Clark said. “It is going to be a fabulous period in Texas A&M veterinary history.”
The $181 million project also has received generous support from the Texas Legislature, the Texas A&M University System and Texas A&M University, as well as many alumni and friends, whose partnerships generated more than $10 million during the campaign’s quiet phase.
“This groundbreaking celebration is a time of great optimism and promise for our college,” said Dr. John R. August, the Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M. “The Clark Hospital will provide an extraordinary one-of-a-kind environment for learning, discovery, care and compassion. It truly will be a force for good.”
As the veterinary profession advances, the current Small Animal Teaching Hospital (SATH) has become too small, creating challenges in increasing the number of research projects and clinical trials, accommodating the veterinary class size and housing the additional faculty and support staff needed. Originally designed to support 6,000 cases, the SATH sees around 21,000 cases annually.
The hospital serves as the capstone experience for Texas A&M Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students, who spend a full calendar year during the fourth and final year of their veterinary education completing clinical rotations across services in both the Small and Large Animal Teaching Hospitals. The VMBS has graduated 9,230 Aggie veterinarians in its 109-year history.
The Clark Hospital is being designed by Page Southerland Page architects, with associate architect Foil Wyatt, to meet modern needs by providing teaching and clinical spaces that reflect the substantive advancements — such as the emergence of new technologies, clinical trials and veterinary specialties, including telemedicine — that have occurred in the field of veterinary medicine since the current SATH opened in 1981.
Vaughn Construction completed the demolition of VMS Building 507 prior to the groundbreaking ceremony. Site preparation has begun as it prepares the site for construction of the building foundation over the summer.
To learn more about the Linda & Dennis Clark ’68 Small Animal Teaching Hospital, visit tx.ag/ClarkHospital.
