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Dr. Jim Thompson, Dean

Dean Thompson

Jim Thompson (pictured above), dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, retired in December 2023 after serving in that position since 2008. A national search for his successor is underway.

Thompson was the fifth dean to serve the college, which was established in 1974 and is one of only 33 accredited colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States. In his 15-year tenure as dean, Thompson oversaw significant positive changes in the college, including successful accreditation, the expansion and renovation of the Charles and Julie Wharton Large Animal Teaching Hospital, the college’s recently opened Teaching and Learning Center addition, and growth in both the veterinary and graduate degree programs to help meet the needs of the state. Most recently, he helped the college navigate the unprecedented pandemic of COVID-19 and was instrumental in the establishment of the UT Center of Veterinary Social Work, a collaboration between the UT College of Social Work and the UT College of Veterinary Medicine. The center focuses on attending to the welfare of all species through excellence in global inter-professional practice.