Office of the Dean

    Our office works to ensure that the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania stands as a leader in education, clinical care, and research related to animals and humans.

    Welcome

    The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania serves at the nexus of education, clinical care, and research related to animals and humans. For the School’s community of educators, practitioners, and scientists, our moment in time holds revolutionary promise to accelerate veterinary medicine’s impact on animal, human, and environmental health.

    Dean

    Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM

    Gilbert S. Kahn Dean, School of Veterinary Medicine
    University of Pennsylvania

    Read Faculty Bio

    Advancing Veterinary Medicine

    Our Mission, Vision, and Values

    Our mission at Penn Vet is to train the next generation of veterinary leaders to advance healthcare outcomes and access, ensure global health, bolster sustainable agriculture, create and support interdisciplinary career paths, and foster community and wellness in the profession.

    Our Vision — A world with exceptional and vastly more integrated health of animals, people, and the environment.

    Our Values — Leadership, collaboration, interdisciplinarity, opportunity, sustainability.

    Students in scrubs walking down the steps.

    Dean Hoffman on Campus and Around the Country

    One Health, Climate, and Sustainability

    Using his voice as veterinarian, Dean Hoffman collaborates across a network of One Health professionals and academics to promote public engagement on sustainable agriculture; to advance veterinary practices within the profession; and to identify solutions that enhance food systems while minimizing environmental and climate impacts.

    2025

    2024

    • COP29: Delivering Health and Education for People, Planet, Peace and Prosperity (Zero Water Day Partnership, Julian Fisher, sponsor); Speaker on One Health /Transdisciplinary Climate Education.
    • Global Consortium for Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) speaker – Climate Change and Veterinary Education;
    • Plant Arc Symposium speaker:
    • April 10, 2024 | Perry World House: opening remarks for, participation in Panel 1 – Workshop on Preparing for Vector Borne Disease in a Warming World (sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation)
    • Member, National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the US Health Sector (“Climate Collaborative”), serving as AAVMC representative, and Education Committee
    • Member, National Academy of Practice (NAP Class of 2024) – Interprofessional Education on Climate, service: Abstract Committee
    • May 15, 2024 | “Climate and Veterinary Medicine”: Seminar, Center for Stewardship Agriculture and Food Security
    • “Climate and Veterinary Medicine”: Seminar, Center for Stewardship Agriculture and Food Security
    • April 13, 2024 | AAVMC CATALYZE 2024 conference: organizer, moderator, speaker for Climate and Sustainability tracks, Wash DC
    • Energy Week Panelist; “Growing Greener: The Role of University Research & Demonstration Farms in Energy and Climate Policy” with Great Lakes University of Kenya (GLUK); 
    • Keynote, One Health Club at Penn Vet, Climate Change Action at Penn
    • Jan 25, 2024 | Perry World House Supported Workshop: From Crisis to Connection: Intersecting Threads of Climate, Communication, and Mental Health; UPenn
    • Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy; Voices for Change: Empowering Climate Change Communicators

    2023

    2022

    2021 and 2020

    Supporting Research

    Dean Hoffman is founder of the first Extracellular Vesicle (EV) Core Laboratory in the United States. EVs are associated with various physiological processes. They facilitate cell-to-cell communication and are being explored for potential therapeutic applications. He maintains a state-of-the-art EV Core Laboratory at Penn Vet to support research activities across the country.

    More about EV Core Lab
    Follow the Dean on LinkedIn

    Our Leadership

    Our Board

    Penn Vet’s Board of Advisors is the advisory body to Dean Andrew Hoffman. While formal institutional governance and fiduciary responsibility for the University rests solely with its Board of Trustees, our advisory board serves as a vital channel of communication with the Trustees on the activities of Penn Vet.

    Our Board of Advisors afford Penn Vet a ready panel of professionals, experts, and informed lay people who provide volunteer leadership and financial support to the School. They serve as ambassadors and spokespersons by linking the campus to the world.

    Board of Advisors

    • Mr. Mark D. Spitzer, W’71, Chair
    • Mr. Martin E. Winter, G’76, W’76, Vice Chair
    • Mrs. Kathryn L. Champ
    • Mr. Christopher B. Cowan, WG’91
    • Mr. Michael Dana, WG’85
    • Dr. Juan Luis Ferrer Perez, C’78, V’82
    • Ms. Wendy Grubbs
    • Ms. Abigail R. Kazam, C’02
    • William R. Levy, Esq.
    • Mr. Richard Lichter
    • Mr. Keith A. Morgan, C’83
    • Mrs. Linda Richardson
    • Mrs. Gail Petty Riepe, CW’68
    • Dr. Deborah S. Rothman, C’95
    • Ms. Christa B. Schmidt
    • Mrs. Tamara Totah Picache, W’94
    • Dr. Anson J. Tsugawa, V’98
    • Mrs. Lucy Zungailia, C’85

    Ex Officio Members

    • Mr. Christian Herr, ex officio
    • Mr. David Lentz, ex-officio
    • Hon. Dan Moul, ex officio
    • Hon. Eddie Day Pashinski, ex officio
    • Hon. Russell Redding, ex officio
    • Hon. Judith L. Schwank, ex officio
    • Mr. Christopher Torres, ex officio
    • Hon. Elder A. Vogel, Jr., ex officio

    Emeritus

    • Mrs. Patricia Billhardt
    • Ms. Christine C. Connelly
    • Mrs. Mindy Heyer, C’79, W’79, WG’80

    Dean’s Council

    The Dean’s Council is comprised of faculty members and executive-level staff who serve as advisers to Dean Andrew Hoffman in guiding the mission and strategic priorities for Penn Vet.

    Council Members

    Gary Althouse, DVM, PhD, DACT
    Associate Dean for Sustainable Agriculture and Veterinary Practices
    Marion Dilley and David George Jones Endowed Chair in Animal Reproduction; Professor of Swine Health and Reproduction

    Brady Beale, VMD, DACVO
    Associate Dean of Clinical Enterprise, Ryan Hospital; Hospital Director and Chief Medical Officer, Ryan Hospital; Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

    Igor E. Brodsky, AB, PhD
    Chair, Department of Pathobiology;
    Robert R. Marshak Professor of Pathobiology;
    Associate Professor of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine

    Claire Bruno
    Assistant Dean of Students & Admissions

    Barbara Dallap Schaer, VMD, DACVS, DACVECC
    Associate Dean for Clinical Education and Operations, New Bolton Center; New Bolton Center Hospital Director; Professor of Emergency Medicine & Critical Care

    Amy C. Durham, MS, VMD, MSEd, DACVP
    Associate Dean for Education;
    Professor of Anatomic Pathology

    Roderick Gilbert, MPH, DrPH(c)
    Assistant Dean for Community and Engagement

    Jonathan Evans, MA
    Senior Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Relations

    Martin Hackett, MA
    Chief Communications Officer

    Katrin Hinrichs, DVM, PhD, DACT
    Chair, Department of Clinical Studies-New Bolton Center; Harry Werner Endowed Professor of Equine Medicine; Professor of Reproduction

    Olena Jacenko, PhD
    Associate Dean for Faculty;
    Professor of Biochemistry

    Christopher J. Lengner, PhD
    Chair, Department of Biomedical Sciences;
    Harriet Ellison Woodward Professor

    Jillian Marcussen, MPA
    Assistant Dean of Administration & Chief of Staff;
    Office of the Dean

    Mark Oyama, DVM, MSCE, DACVIM
    Chair, Department of Clinical Sciences & Advanced Medicine; Charlotte Newton Sheppard Endowed Chair of Medicine

    Jennifer Punt, VMD, PhD
    Associate Dean for One Health;
    Professor of Immunology

    Phillip Scott, PhD
    Vice Dean for Research & Academic Resources;
    Professor of Microbiology & Immunology

    Robert Schieri, MBA, CPA
    Vice Dean and Chief Financial Officer

    Penn Vet Deans

    From its inception in 1884, with Rush Shippen Huidekoper, MD, as Penn Vet’s inaugural dean, the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has been led by visionary thinkers.

    The Gilbert S. Kahn Deanship

    In 1993, Gilbert S. Kahn, breeder, exhibitor and judge of purebred dogs and supporter of animal welfare and canine health issues, made a gift to name the deanship of Penn Veterinary Medicine. The Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Penn was the first endowed veterinary deanship in North America.

    Learn more about Penn Vet on the library’s site


    Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc

    Term: 2018-Present

    Joan C. Hendricks, VMD, PhD

    Term: 2006-2018

    Alan M. Kelly, BVSc, MRCVS, PhD

    Term: 1994-2005

    Edwin J. Andrews, VMD

    Term: 1987-1993

    Robert R. Marshak, DVM

    Term: 1973-1987

    Mark. W. Allam, VMD

    Term: 1953-1973

    Raymond A. Kelser, DVM

    Term: 1946-1952

    George A. Dick, VMD

    Term: 1931–1945

    Harold E. Bemis, DVM

    Term: 1930–1931

    Louis A. Klein, VMD

    Term: 1910–1930

    Leonard Pearson, VMD

    Term: 1897–1909

    John Marshall, MD

    Term: 1890–1897

    Rush Shippen Huidekoper, MD

    Term: 1884–1889