Ross Vet student holding a gray cat

New Program: $60K in Scholarships Available for RUSVM Students

Jul 26, 2016

The Foundation selected RUSVM as the first institution to benefit from its new initiative to provide financial support to aspiring veterinarians, especially those who want to pursue career interests in feline or canine health.

“We are very thankful for the Blue Buffalo Foundation’s scholarships, which will enable Ross students to manage their financial commitment to education while focusing on achieving their academic and career goals,” said Tom Babel, chairman of the DVGSF and vice president of regulatory affairs at DeVry Education Group. The DVGSF will administer the restricted scholarships for RUSVM students.

Each scholarship under the Blue Buffalo Scholarship program will be for $5,000 per year during the second, third and fourth years of the scholars’ attendance at RUSVM. Recipients of the Blue Buffalo scholarships will commit to an extracurricular project designed to enhance their education in feline or canine health, and report the progress of the project to the Foundation each year as a condition of the scholarship’s renewal.

“We are excited to support Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine students,” said David Petrie, president of the Blue Buffalo Foundation. “Investing in future veterinarians who desire to become leaders, particularly in areas of feline and canine health, gets us closer to achieving our mission of finding a cure for pet cancer.”

RUSVM students were selected to benefit from these scholarships because of the university’s focus on producing career-ready veterinarians with knowledge and skills in a wide range of fields and the ability to advance veterinary medicine. One such veterinarian is Victoria Carmella, DVM, a RUSVM alumna and director of veterinary services at Blue Buffalo. Dr. Carmella owned a private practice before moving into the pet-food industry nearly four years ago.

“My transition as a business owner from private practice to director of veterinary services at Blue Buffalo is a great testament to RUSVM’s curriculum, which provided me with diverse skills that were transferable and marketable across industries,” said Carmella. “It’s an amazing honor to have my alma mater selected for this new opportunity.”

About The Blue Buffalo Foundation 

The Blue Buffalo Foundation (“Foundation”) was established in 2003 by the founders of Blue Buffalo Company, Ltd. (“Blue Buffalo”) a manufacturer of natural dog and cat foods under the BLUE™ brand names. Helping to find a cure for pet cancer is a top priority for Blue Buffalo because its founders have had very personal experience with this disease. “Our dog Blue, a large breed Airedale and a great pal, had three bouts with cancer,” said Bill Bishop, Blue Buffalo’s founder. “After Blue’s battles, we wanted to do something meaningful to help find a cure for this devastating disease. So one of the first things we did after starting our pet food company was to establish the Foundation to raise money for pet cancer research, and raise awareness among pet parents of the early warning signs of this disease.” www.PetCancerAwareness.org

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