College of Veterinary Medicine Places Final Steel Beam in Topping Off Ceremony

The grand opening is still more than a year away, but Utah’s first veterinary college marked a major milestone Wednesday, March 12.

Adorned with a Utah State University flag, an American flag and a fake pine tree, the final steel beam rode to the top of the three-story structure that has been taking shape at the corner of 1400 North Street and 1200 East Street in Logan, completing the frame of USU’s Veterinary Medical Education Building.

Wednesday’s “topping off” ceremony, attended by the principal planners of USU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and hosted by a swarm of Jacobsen Construction employees, came nine months after the groundbreaking for the new, 106,000 square-foot facility on May 31, 2024.

“One year to go,” said Ralph Meyer, department head and professor at the college. Meyer, like his colleagues, wore a white Jacobsen Construction hard hat and neon construction vest for safety on the site.

Prior to its lifting off, the college’s original planners signed their names to the beam in permanent marker. Professor and Associate Dean of Clinical Programs Kerry Rood demonstrated his understanding of proportion when he wrote his name large enough to be read from the ground. Other signers, including Professor and Dean Dirk Vanderwall, Financial Officer Sue McCormick, Associate Dean of Research Chris Davies, Professional Practice Associate Professor and Director of Admissions Cathleen Kovarik, and Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Programs Heloisa Rutigliano, weren’t quite as bold.

The significance of the pine tree in a topping-off ceremony is both symbolic and practical in ancient Scandinavian tradition: they sought to appease tree-dwelling spirits displaced during construction, and the needles signaled when the rest of the wood used in the structure had dried sufficiently (as the pine needles fell out). The flags had purpose, too, marking the direction and strength of the wind at the top of the building.

This project’s technological features, by contrast, are anything but ancient. The Veterinary Medical Education Building will boast major upgrades to the college’s current digs, like 4,055 square feet of laboratory space between two teaching labs: an anatomy lab illuminated with natural light and a wet laboratory with technology for teaching bacteriology, parasitology and clinical pathology. Plans include office and classroom space, 10 mock exam rooms, a surgery suite and a student forum.

VCBO, the project’s Salt-Lake-City-based architects, took special consideration for veterinary students’ mental health and stress management, designing comfortable study areas with spacious views for students to decompress, connect with nature and focus on their well-being.

Follow along with the construction progress on the CVM’s live webcams.