New Exhibit Celebrates 100 Years of the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph

A new exhibit celebrates the Ontario Veterinary College’s (OVC) 100 years in Guelph through the lens of its student veterinarians.

A Century on Campus: The OVC in Guelph, 1922 – 2022, curated in partnership by the OVC’s Barker Veterinary Museum and the McLaughlin Library’s Archival & Special Collections, explores the experiences of OVC student veterinarians throughout the last century.

The veterinary profession has rapidly changed and expanded over the 100 years that OVC has been located in Guelph and graduating classes have come and gone. Although they are separated by a century, the OVC classes of 1922 and 2022 are linked – having shared the experience of attending veterinary school during a pandemic.

In the exhibit, visitors will find a variety of student items such as notebooks, photographs, clothing, and trophies. These items selected from the library's Regional and Campus History Collection and the Barker Veterinary Museum’s collections exemplify the growth and transformation of the OVC student body and social culture, as well as veterinary education and practice.

The exhibit also includes a collection of college wear from the Barker Veterinary Museum’s holdings, including a women’s jacket from the Class of 1968, the first year women were able to design and have their own jacket.

Come and celebrate a century of students and campus heritage at the exhibit launch during Alumni Weekend on Saturday, June 25 from 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM in the Robert Whitelaw Room on the second floor of the University of Guelph’s McLaughlin Library.

A ribbon cutting and opening remarks from Dr. Jeff Wichtel, Dean of OVC; Dr. Lisa Cox, curator of the Barker Veterinary Museum; and members from the library Archival & Special Collections team begin at 1:30 PM.. Registration is not required.

The exhibit continues in the McLaughlin Library exhibition gallery until the end of 2022. To access the exhibit, email libaspc@uoguelph.ca. 

The exhibition was made possible by the collaboration of the Barker Veterinary Museum, Ontario Veterinary College; Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library; Canadian VIBE (Veterinary professionals Instilling Black Excellence), OVC Class of 2022, Dr. Mike Scolaro, Dr. Brad Hanna, Dr. Ian Barker, and the OVC Dean’s Office.