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Many changes in US veterinary colleges and their student bodies have occurred during the past 50 years. These have reflected US demographics in many ways. With these changes have come many changes in student life. The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges has played an important role in facilitating and tracking many of the changes by creating numerous opportunities for colleges to work together on issues related to admissions, diversity, and scholarly publication in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.

The symposium Partnerships for Preparedness: Future Directions of Schools of Public Health and Colleges of Veterinary Medicine documents the importance of further integration between the fields of veterinary medicine and public health to protect our nation from public-health emergencies. Current areas targeted for improved collaboration include academic programs, public policy, workforce training, and research.

The context of the conference presentation that gave rise to this article was the importance of veterinarians becoming more engaged in the public-health challenges of today. During the presentation, I sought to point out some of the pressing reasons why. Of particular concern to me are the missed opportunities to help influence human health and well-being as private veterinary practitioners in addition to public-practice veterinarians. Key elements: Public health, the protection and improvement of community health by organized community effort; the global community, the entire world; social responsibility, being, as members of society, morally and legally responsible for the welfare of human beings; terrorism, the systematic use of terror (fear), especially as a means of coercion (it is always local!); system integration, the interaction of interdependent groups to form a unified whole.