Encore Vet Group has become the first corporate partner to sponsor the Center for Veterinary Business and Entrepreneurship (CVBE), a newly-launched innovation center run by the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in partnership with the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

The three-year corporate-level sponsorship supports programming that will help Cornell to build innovative business curricula for veterinary students and post-graduate executive education programs.  Encore Vet Group CEO Ted Sprinkle ’66, D.V.M. ’69, has been a longtime champion of bringing practical business training to his veterinary alma mater. “With the new opportunity that came up with the CVBE, I felt it was something we just had to do,” Sprinkle said.

The collaboration is a natural fit with Encore Vet Group, which specializes purchasing successful community legacy veterinary practices and providing business support, training and management services to veterinary practices. “Our client is the veterinarian practice owner and the team onsite,” said Sprinkle. “Today, it’s very hard to manage your business while also practicing veterinary medicine. I started Encore Vet Group to offer collaborative business support as well as leadership and communication training. We want to keep the power of the practice in the hands of the people who work there on a daily basis.”

This overarching goal dovetails with the CVBE’s mission to foster business education, research, and entrepreneurship activities to improve the business of veterinary medicine. “We are excited that Encore Vet Group has signed on to become the first corporate member of the CVBE,” says Jodi Korich, D.V.M. ‘97, associate dean of education and CVBE lead. “Dr. Sprinkle’s forward-thinking approach to helping veterinarians manage their businesses through communication and leadership training aligns perfectly with CVBE’s goals. We’re excited to have Encore Vet Group as our first Partner-level sponsor.”

Korch continues, “This sponsorship provides Encore Vet Group with an opportunity to serve on the CVBE Advisory Council to help shape the future activities of the program, as well as access to world-class faculty expertise at Cornell via our new liaison program. Through this partnership, Encore Vet Groupwill also lend their business expertise to educational initiatives including the Animal Health Hackathon, Veterinary Business Roundtable, veterinary curricula, and student career networking events.”

-By Lauren Cahoon Roberts