Ongoing support is requested for a short-term research training initiative at Cornell University. The program targets veterinary students who aspire to careers in biomedical discovery or public health. Thirteen positions are requested in each of the next five years. Training would be provided in new and recently refurbished facilities of the College of Veterinary Medicine and in similarly provisioned laboratories in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Participating faculty would be nationally competitive scientists, many of whom have already served as mentors for program scholars, and often also as module facilitators and counselors. The program itself combines independent, faculty-guided research, vocational counseling, and student-directed exercises of notable richness and diversity. All seek to develop critical thinking, communication and teamwork skills, and to empower students to make informed decisions about graduate training and their careers. The Cornell program has been successful in identifying outstanding participants including subsequent Rhodes and Fulbright scholars, and many individuals who graduated from veterinary college with the University Medal or its equivalent. More than 100 alumni have earned the PhD degree or are presently in training while many others have been awarded other advanced degrees in science or public health. An enduring network of program participants, counselors, and consultants is a unique legacy of the program. As mentors, they are committed to assisting one another and more junior colleagues who are still in training. Mechanisms have been established to validate elements of the program, and to identify problems connected with the professional advancement of veterinary graduates who aspire to careers envisioned by the program. An outcome analysis completed in 2005 revealed that more than half of the students who took part in the program since 1990 have pursued science-based careers.
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