Lyon College School of Veterinary Medicine News

Before the first veterinary student ever walks through the doors of the Lyon College School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Eason Hildreth already knows how he wants to begin: one student at a time.

During their first month on campus, every member of the inaugural class will receive a personal invitation to meet with the school’s associate dean for professional programs. No agenda, no checklist, just a conversation about their journey, their goals and how the college can help them succeed.

“I want to know each student’s story,” Dr. Hildreth said. “What do they want to achieve? What can I do for them?”

For Dr. Hildreth, building Arkansas’s first private school of veterinary medicine begins with relationships. That philosophy has guided a career spanning clinical practice, biomedical research and higher education and now helps shape one of the nation’s newest veterinary schools as Lyon College prepares to welcome its inaugural class in 2027, pending accreditation.

He brings an uncommon combination of clinical, scientific and educational experience to the role. Dr. Hildreth earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from North Carolina State University, followed by a small animal rotating internship at the University of Florida and a residency in small animal surgery at The Ohio State University. While there, he also completed master’s and doctoral degrees focused on bone biology and skeletal development.

His research career continued with postdoctoral fellowships at Ohio State and the Medical University of South Carolina, where he studied bone biology, the tumor microenvironment and bone-cancer interactions. After receiving a National Institutes of Health K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award, he joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham as an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.

At UAB, his work centered on the role of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression, along with an extensive commitment to teaching and mentoring. He developed graduate-level courses, helped shape Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. curricula, served on residency selection and academic committees, mentored numerous trainees and participated on 28 doctoral committees.

His national service includes leadership roles with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the American Veterinary Medical Association Publications Scientific Review Board and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Education Advisory Committee.

Despite those accomplishments, Dr. Hildreth said his focus has always returned to students.

“I heard about the Lyon College School of Veterinary Medicine project back in 2022 and thought it was exciting,” he said. “The opportunity to help build a school from the ground up does not come along often. There are going to be so many firsts here, the first building, the first student, the first class and the first graduation. We have the opportunity to make dreams come true.”

He believes Lyon will offer a more personal model of veterinary education where students are known, faculty are accessible and learning extends beyond the classroom.

“I don’t want to be in an office with the door closed,” he said. “Students have to see us. They have to feel we are approachable.”

That philosophy reflects a lesson Dr. Hildreth learned early in his career. “The key to ability is availability,” he said. “If you are visible, engaged and willing to learn, you will go further.”

The school’s educational model reinforces that approach. Students will build a strong foundation in classroom and clinical sciences before entering a distributed model of clinical education with veterinary partners across Arkansas and beyond. Hands-on training begins early, including day-one exposure through a partnership with Cabot Animal Support Services and an on-site teaching hospital.

Rather than learning in a single setting, students will rotate between the teaching hospital, partner sites and classroom instruction, gaining experience across a range of practice environments. The curriculum also emphasizes shelter medicine through the Cabot partnership, offering direct opportunities to improve animal welfare while serving communities across the region.

Dr. Carolyn Henry said the approach reflects a student-centered model designed to prepare graduates for the evolving veterinary profession. “Our goal is to graduate veterinarians who are competent, confident problem solvers, well prepared for whatever segment of veterinary medicine they choose,” she said.

Dr. Henry also pointed to Dr. Hildreth as a key part of that vision. “Dr. Hildreth brings an extraordinary blend of clinical expertise, research experience and commitment to students,” she said. “He is exactly the kind of educator who helps turn vision into reality.”

Dr. Hildreth said Dr. Henry’s leadership helped bring him to Lyon. “Dr. Henry’s vision for this school is what convinced me to be part of it,” he said. “She and the leadership team are building something truly different where students are known, supported and trained across real-world settings from the very beginning.”

He added that the program reflects Lyon’s commitment to “A Culture of Care,” emphasizing compassion, collaboration, service and well-being alongside academic rigor.

“We want our graduates to be future ready,” he said. “Veterinary medicine is changing quickly and we have to prepare students not just for what it is today but for what it will become.”

Advances in artificial intelligence, biomedical research, public health and technology continue to reshape the profession, he said. Lyon’s curriculum is designed to prepare graduates for careers that extend beyond traditional veterinary clinical practice, incorporating research, entrepreneurship and leadership development.

He also sees the school as a catalyst for Cabot’s growth.

“Bloom where you’re planted,” he said. “What this school will do for the city is massive. We’re going to grow together.”

Dr. Hildreth expects the inaugural class to be geographically diverse, drawing students from across the country and beyond.

Above all, he said, the priority is creating an environment where students feel supported from the start.

“They do not care how much you know until they know how much you care,” he said.

Five years from now, Dr. Hildreth hopes the school will be known not only for producing excellent veterinarians but for strengthening animal health across Arkansas and beyond. Its graduates will serve rural and urban communities, advance biomedical research, support public health and food systems, and eventually mentor future students through the same distributed clinical network that shaped them.

For Dr. Hildreth, success will still come down to the same measure he started with.

One student at a time.