1.History of Development

The College of Veterinary Medicine at Henan Agricultural University originated in 1927 and currently provides a comprehensive undergraduate-master-doctor training system. The college started recruiting master’s students in 1985 and doctoral students in 2003. Over the years, She has reached several milestones. In 2007, the first-level post-doctoral mobile station was established at the College of Veterinary Medicine; in 2010, the college was authorized to assign the first-level discipline doctoral degree; in 2021, the college was approved to assign the professional doctoral degree. In recognition of her achievements, the college was selected as one of the first eight A-level dominant disciplines in Henan Province in 2015, and passed the inspection with an outstanding grade in 2019. In 2020, the college was selected as one of the first batch of A-level characteristic backbone disciplines in Henan Province with a top score. In 2021, the college was selected as one of the double world-class disciplines. In 2022, the discipline of Veterinary Medicine received a B+ rating in the fifth round of discipline evaluation of the Ministry of Education of China, and was selected into the priority development list of the 14th Five-Year Plan of the Ministry of Education in the field of veterinary. The disciplines of “Botany and Zoology” and “Microbiology” supported by the college were ranked in the top 1% of the Essential Science Indicators (ESI). In 2023, the college was ranked at the 43rd in the Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) and 7th in the Shanghai Ranking's Chinese Ranking of Best Academic Subjects. The college owns 13 province-level research platforms, including the National International Joint Research center for Animal Immunology. In 2022, the College of Veterinary Medicine led the establishment of the Longhu Modern Immunology Laboratory and obtained official approval for the Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory, making it the first P3 laboratory in agricultural universities for large animals directly approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

2. Achievements in Development

(1) Ideological and Political Education

The college of Veterinary Medicine is dedicated to implementing the Communist Party of China’s education policy, fostering virtue through education, imparting knowledge and cultivate people, enhancing students' well-rounded development in all directions and nurturing a new generation of capable young people for the Party and the country. In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, Academician Gaiping Zhang led a scientific research team that successfully developed diagnostic, prevention, and control methods for the pandemic. He was awarded as the National Advanced Individual in Fighting COVID-19 Epidemic. Professor Zelin Wang's dedication to scientific research was widely reported by more than 300 media, including CCTV, and he was awarded as one of the  Good Samaritans of China . The college has a Huang Danian-style teaching team, and a teaching team that has been approved as one of the first batch of ideological and political teaching teams in Henan Province. Additionally, a Party branch in the college was honored as one of the first batch of National Party Building Model Branch. One faculty member was honored with the teaching prize of the Henan Thousand Talents Program, two faculty members were honored as the Distinguished Teachers of Henan Province, two faculty members were honored as the Moral Teachers of Henan Province, one faculty member was awarded with the May 1st Labor Medal of Henan Province, one faculty member won the second prize of the 7th National Counselor Quality Competition, and one faculty member won the special prize of the 7th Henan University Counselor Quality Competition.

(2) Innovation Platforms

The college of Veterinary Medicine has 13 national or provincial scientific research platforms. One of these platforms is the National International Joint Research center for Animal Immunology, which received an excellent evaluation in 2020. Additionally, the Henan Synergistic Innovation Center for Modern Animal Husbandry successfully passed the first round of inspection in 2017. In 2020, several new initiatives were established, including the Henan strategic alliance for technological innovation of industry-university-research, the Sino-Kazakhstan Strategic Research Center for International Cooperation in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, and the Sino-Kazakhstan International Joint Laboratory for Food Safety. Furthermore, the Henan   Technology Innovation Center for Veterinary Biological Products was approved in the same year, making it one of the only four centers approved in the first batch. The Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory was approved in 2022 as well, which was the first P3 laboratory in agricultural universities for large animals directly approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

(3) Faculty Members

The College of Veterinary Medicine has a total of 150 full-time faculty members. Among them, 95.8% hold doctorate degrees, 46% have senior titles, and 40% have oversea education background or working experience. Among them, there is 1 Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 1 foreign Academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering, 1 distinguished young scholar of the National Science Fund, 2 leading talents of the national Ten Thousand People Plan program, 2 outstanding oversea young scientists, 2 youth Cheung Kong Scholars, 3 teachers selected by the national Millions of Talents Program, 5 experts receiving government special allowance, 2 scientists of the national modern agricultural industrial technology system, 2 “Henan Province Scholars”, 3 outstanding talent and innovation teams of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, 1 Huang Danian-style teaching team, 1 innovation team of Cheung Kong scholar, and 1 key area innovation team of “Millions of Talents Program”.

(4) Talent Training

The College of Veterinary Medicine has implemented a highly effective personnel training plan for her faculty members specializing in the field of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine. This commitment to excellence has resulted in numerous accolades and achievements. The faculty members have won three second prizes of national teaching achievement awards. One course was honored as 2023 national off-line first-class undergraduate course, while another course was awarded with the first prize of Henan Province on-line excellent teaching course for undergraduate students. One faculty member was awarded with the special prize of Henan teaching skill competition, and another was awarded with the second prize of the 2nd national teaching innovation competition for university teachers. Furthermore, the college undertakes a major educational reform project for graduate students in Henan Province and a project focused on developing excellent courses for graduate students pursuing professional degrees. The college also gained 10 national awards from China International Internet+ College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Fourteen doctoral and master’s thesis projects were awarded with provincial prizes, 1 master’s thesis project ws awarded as the national excellent thesis of professional veterinary medicine degree. The college has cultivated more than 10,000 outstanding veterinarians, including renowned scientists like Dr. Gaiping Zhang, an academician of China Academy of Engineering, and successful entrepreneurs such as Mr. Yinglin Qin, chairman of Mu Yuan Group. There are 4 listed companies in animal husbandry in Henan Province, of which 3 founders are alumni of Henan Agricultural University. The college's impact extends beyond the field of veterinary medicine, as it has also played an important role in cultivating political leaders, such as Ms. Yanling Wang, the deputy director of People's Congress in Hubei provience.

(5) International Cooperation

The College of Veterinary Medicine has multiple international research platforms including the National International Joint Research center for Animal Immunology, the International Joint Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Henan Province, the Sino-Kazakhstan International Joint Laboratory for Food Safety and etc. In 2020, the college successfully organized the International High-Level Forum on Engineering Science and Technology with the topic of “China-Five Central Asian Countries: Animal Husbandry and Animal Disease Prevention and Control” in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Engineering. This success of this event prompted the college and the Chinese Academy of Engineering to hold the International High-Level Forum once again in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, the college held the International High-Level Forum with the topic of “Current Situation and Future Challenges of Animal Epidemic Disease Prevention and Control”. The primary objective of the forum was to foster international cooperation in animal disease prevention and control and training of veterinary experts. These forums have attracted a significant number of participants, including 44 academicians, more than 50 foreign experts, more than 500 domestic scholars and entrepreneurs, and an impressive online and offline audience of over 50,000 individuals. Additionally, the college has organized approximately 100 academic lectures under the Longhu Forum series, inviting around 30 internationally renowned professors to share their expertise. Furthermore, the college's faculty members have actively engaged in academic exchanges and collaborations with prestigious institutions like Harvard University and other well-known institutions.

(6) Acacemic Achievements

Over the past five years, the college had 63 major grants approved by the National Natural Science Foundation and national key R&D programs, and the total funding was over 153 million Chinese yuan. The faculty members of the College of Veterinary Medicine have won 1 second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and 4 first prizes, 4 second prizes and 2 third prizes of Henan Science and Technology Progress Award. In 2020, Professor Zelin Wang was honored with the Outstanding Contribution in Science and Technology Award of Henan. Furthermore, there are 56 patents authorized, including 35 invention patents. The college’s faculty members have formulated 5 national and agricultural industry standards and gained 3 projects for formulating industry standards. The faculty members have published 410 SCI papers, among which 81 papers were published on top journals including Lancet Infectious Diseases and PNAS.

(7) Social Services

Taking the critical needs of the country as the central task, the College of Veterinary Medicine undertakes the development path of combining politics, production, learning, research and application. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Academician Gaiping Zhang led the team to develop quick diagnostic, prevention, and control methods for the virus. A novel subunit vaccine created by this team has been proven as an effective tool in combating COVID-19. Additionally, the college is actively involved in 5 consulting projects with the China Academy of Engineering. Faculty members also hold important positions as consultants for the Department of Life Sciences of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and as evaluators for the veterinary discipline of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council. The college has emerged as a prominent think tank for animal disease prevention and animal husbandry development in Henan Province and the country. Based on the platforms like Henan Synergistic Innovation Center for Modern Animal Husbandry, the college was approved as the “Innovation China” professional technology service group for healthy breeding of herbivorous livestock by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. In addition, 8 faculty members were selected as experts in the national science and technology mission of rural revitalization for key counties, 6 faculty members were selected in the national veterinary drug evaluation and consulting expert database. With groups of scientists in the national industrial system of pigs, beef cattle, mutton sheep, cows, poultry and pasture, the college has made significant contributions to the market success of enterprises such as Mu Yuan and Pleco, providing guidance in establishing animal disease detection laboratories. The college has obtained 13 new veterinary drug certificates and has formulated 3 national standards and 2 industry standards. The total product transfer income of the college are over 120 million Chinese yuan, and the breeding performance has been increased about 10 billion Chinese yuan.