Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 19, 1994                   TAG: 9404190120
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-6   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

EQUINE MEDICAL CENTER STAYING OPEN

Funding for the center, located in Leesburg, was drastically cut during this year's General Assembly session. Tech officials tried to make the case for the center, but also admitted that, given constraints on other departments, the center was not a priority.

However, in a meeting last week, donors and friends of the center agreed to make up any shortfall, according to a press release from Virginia Tech.

The center's annual operating budget is $2.7 million. The general assembly set aside $400,000 - $25,000 less than last year, and $500,000 less that the center needs to operate, Tech president Paul Torgersen said in a statement.

Friends of the center will figure out how to raise $500,000.

The center was founded in 1984 with $4 million from the last Marion duPont Scott. Originally intended to be independent, the center later evolved into a campus of the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, located at Virginia Tech.