The Charles and Claire Jacobson Animal Health Center is set to open this fall, bringing a purpose-built veterinary teaching clinic to campus that promises expanded training for students and upgraded care for animals. With classes and clinical work moving into a modern facility, faculty say the center will reshape hands-on education and research at Cal Poly immediately.
The new center will add about 17,500 square feet of instructional and clinical space, including dedicated teaching labs and research suites, according to the university’s project information page. Campus leaders describe it as the first facility on site designed exclusively for animal health instruction and services.
Kim Sprayberry, associate head of the animal science department, has overseen the project for several years. Staff who began planning the initiative a decade ago handed the work to her, and she has been involved in the construction and program planning as it moved toward completion.
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Cal Poly animal health center opens this fall: students gain hands-on research access
Until now, animal science students have worked across roughly ten different campus buildings — from an animal nutrition center to a veterinary clinic that was adapted from an old dairy barn. The consolidated center will centralize clinical teaching and offer equipment and space that the current setup lacks.
“Bringing these programs into a single, purpose-built building raises the level of both student training and animal care,” Sprayberry said, explaining that more modern facilities will enable more advanced instruction and clinical practices.
- Facility name: Charles and Claire Jacobson Animal Health Center
- Size: ~17,500 sq. ft. of instructional and clinical space
- Features: teaching labs, research suites, clinical exam and surgical spaces
- Current setup: programs spread across ~10 campus locations; existing clinic is a converted dairy barn
- Timeline: staff move in early for fall semester; ribbon-cutting planned in late August (public invited)
Cal Poly already sends more graduates to veterinary schools in the western United States than most regional institutions. Administrators say the new center will allow the program to accommodate more students and offer a higher standard of clinical training — an important factor for those applying to vet programs or entering animal-health professions.
Austin Tinsley, an animal science junior who intends to pursue veterinary medicine, said the upgraded facility will expand opportunities for clinical practice, surgical skill development and hands-on research. He also noted that purpose-built spaces tend to be less stressful for animals compared with older, improvised clinics.
Beyond student instruction, the center is expected to support biomedical and applied-animal research by providing updated diagnostic and procedural equipment. That combination of education and research capacity could influence the kinds of projects faculty and students pursue on campus.
Faculty and staff will begin setting up classrooms and clinics ahead of the fall term so courses can start in the new space. A public ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for late August to mark the center’s opening.
The new facility signals a tangible shift in how the university delivers veterinary and animal-health education: more concentrated resources, improved animal welfare on campus, and expanded preparation for students aiming for vet school or careers in animal care.
