College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Neil Olson will be leaving his position at MU, according to an email Interim Chancellor Garnett Stokes sent to campus leaders Wednesday morning. He will be taking a dean position at St. George’s University in Grenada beginning Aug. 15.

Olson said he will be leaving his position in late July, and Stokes said in the email that the university intends to fill the position quickly, but did not specify a date for that goal to be completed.

This will make the college the fourth academic department at MU without a permanent dean. Currently, the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, the College of Arts and Science and the School of Law all have serving interim deans.

During his decade at MU, Olson oversaw the establishment of the Veterinary Health Center in Wentzville, Missouri. Since he took the position in 2007, the college has earned full accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians for the Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, according to Stokes’ email.

Before taking his position at MU, Olson spent nearly 25 years at North Carolina State University in several administrative positions, according to a news release from St. George’s University.

“We are very sorry to see Dean Olson leave,” Stokes said. “We appreciate his leadership over the past 10 years and wish him well at St. George’s University.”

_Edited by Sam Nelson | snelson@themaneater.com_