School to offer degree in animal advocacy

The online programs will help students learn more about running nonprofits.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Duquesne University is partnering with the Humane Society of the United States to offer degrees for people running animal shelters and other animal advocacy groups -- the latest program designed to bring more professionalism to a business once associated only with the city pound and local dogcatcher.
The university will offer an undergraduate bachelor of science degree in humane leadership and a graduate-level certificate in organizational leadership. The online programs were created so people already working in animal advocacy can learn more about operating the nonprofits.
"There are a lot of people in animal shelters and animal advocacy associations who have a love for animals and a love for their work, but they lack the academic credentials to advance in their careers," said Dorothy Bassett, the university's assistant dean of the School of Leadership and Professional Advancement.
Humane Society's efforts
The Humane Society has been increasing efforts to educate animal advocacy workers through its educational division, Humane Society University, which was started in 1999. The Gaithersburg, Md.-based group already works with several other universities, including Tufts University, which has a veterinary school outside Boston, and the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Another national animal advocacy group, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, also offers educational opportunities. Through the veterinary college at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., the ASPCA teaches a course on shelter medicine, and separately offers fellowships and programs in animal behavior and dog training, said Tara Martin, an ASPCA spokeswoman.
But the Humane Society's program with Duquesne will be the first to teach shelter workers about human resources, creating community outreach initiatives, handling the emotional stress of the job and financially managing a shelter, including fund raising.
"The current generation of leaders came from varied academic backgrounds. This program will provide the next generation with a firm knowledge base in every aspect of operating a successful animal shelter or humane advocacy organization," Robert Roop, the society's vice president of education and human resources, said in a statement.
Specialized business
Traci Ojanguren, director of Humane Society University's academic programs, said working in animal advocacy is a specialized business.
"People who work in animal shelters have such hectic schedules and usually they are very short-staffed because they have tight budgets," Ojanguren said.
The classes will be taught by Duquesne faculty and experts from the Humane Society.
"So many people do kind of fall into the field by chance or because of their passion," Ojanguren said. "Up and until now there hasn't really been any program specifically designed for shelters."
So far, the Humane Society has received 400 inquiries about the program and 43 applications, Ojanguren said.
Classes will start in the fall.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.