ProgressOhio

The Ohio State University's veterinary program continues to rise in national ranking, but its teaching hospital brought in $1 million less dollars last year than the previous year. Some attribute the decline to its horse program which saw a 39 percent drop in surgical and medical cases in the past nine years. 

Thomas Rosol, the vet college's dean, attributes the decrease to staff changes and the downturn in Ohio's racing industry. Albert Gabel is leading a group of veterinarians who claim the troubles began when Rosol moved Dr. James Robertson, a nationally renowned surgeon, from the operating room to the classroom, sparking an exodus of talented staff members. In late September, Gabel submitted a petition with 126 signatures, including 49 veterinarians, to incoming President E. Gordon Gee, demanding Rosol's resignation.

Ohio State University's veterinary program continues to rise in the national rankings, but its teaching hospital brought in about $1.3 million less last year than the previous year.

At the heart of the problem is Ohio State's horse program, which saw a 39 percent drop in surgical and medical cases in the past nine years, from a high of 3,105 cases in 1998-99 to 1,901 in 2006-07.

Last year, college veterinarians treated 382 fewer horses at the hospital than the year before.

"The OSU equine program reached its pinnacle in the late 1980s and, since that time, has been on a constant yet undulating decline," said Thomas Rosol, who became the vet college's dean in 2005. "We have in no way given up on the program, but it has been a real challenge."

The hospital's total revenue last year, with state support, was about $14 million -- $703,020 less than its expenses and more than $1.3 million short of the $15.4 million brought in the year before.

"There used to be people standing in line to get into Ohio State, and now they can't seem to get anyone," Dr. William Gesel, an equine and small-animal veterinarian in Canal Winchester, said of prospective clients and faculty members. "I can't understand it, not with OSU's reputation."

Rosol blames several factors, including:

• Losing several professors and surgeons to private practice. A 2005 survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association found the mean salary for college vets to be $92,600 compared with $128,000 for those in private practice.

• Losing clients because of a downturn in Ohio's racing industry. Many horse breeders are sending their top stallions and mares to such states as Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where their offspring can compete for larger purses and qualify for rewards offered only to horses bred in those areas.

• A recent staff shake-up that partly resulted in 35 new professors, including five new faces in the equine unit. The college still has nine vacant positions, including two neurologists and a neurosurgeon, without which Rosol said the college is guaranteed to lose about $800,000 in business annually. Many colleges have scrapped their neurology programs because of a worldwide shortage of neurosurgeons.

Rosol said he made staff changes because "an external review team in 2005 said the environment was toxic and made several personnel and leadership recommendations."

But a group of veterinarians led by Albert Gabel says the troubles began when Rosol moved Dr. James Robertson, a nationally renowned surgeon, from the operating room to the classroom, sparking an exodus of talented staff members.

"Good people don't want to work there for fear they will be identified as losers," said Gabel, who retired as an OSU veterinary professor in 1989.

By driving away surgeons, Gabel said, the hospital has lost patients, going from an average of 40 horses a day in 2005-06 to 10 or fewer last fiscal year. In late September, Gabel submitted a petition with 126 signatures, including 49 veterinarians, to incoming President E. Gordon Gee, asking for Rosol's resignation.

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