Dear Fellow ACVIM Diplomates,

It is hard to believe the first quarter of this year is already behind us and that the spring season is well underway. Our college had a very active first quarter, working to advance many initiatives, including the recent vote to move forward with the process of adding ACVN as the sixth specialty within ACVIM.

The ACVIM Membership Committee has also been working on an overdue and much-anticipated project. The committee has been tasked with developing a member value proposition that better articulates member’s needs and increases engagement. To inform the proposition they’ve partnered with a contractor, staff and our Diversity and Inclusion Task Force to develop the survey you may recall participating in during February. Currently they are assimilating and sifting through the data to begin to strategically craft a refreshed member value proposition, which will be the anchor for an improved and expanded portfolio of member benefits. Look for more information to discuss the findings and recommendations in the next several months.

As many of you may have already seen, at the end of March we successfully launched a re-designed website for ACVIM.org. The website offers a refreshed look and was designed incorporating feedback from members. One of the main goals of the project focused on providing a more intuitive engagement for users, enabling each to navigate easily to the information that is important to them respectively. In the months ahead, we anticipate the relaunch of a newly re-designed VetSpecialists.com site as well.

Another noteworthy development that has been underway behind the scenes is the implementation of a refreshed ACVIM Career Center. We have partnered with Wiley, who recently acquired the international career center platform, Madgex. This new partnership is projected to improve the member and employer experience and job visibility, as well as offering a career-path module for professionals. We anticipate this new platform launching in early May and much more information will be forthcoming.

It is clear that the ACVIM is in a vibrant season of growth. I continue to be grateful for your engagement which support these advancing initiatives. I encourage you to stay involved as we continue to cultivate new ground and advance the reach of both our college and the veterinary profession.

Sincerely,
Harold McKenzie, DVM, MS, MSc (VetEd), FHEA, DACVIM (LAIM)
President, ACVIM