Melanie Kirshenbaum of Westchester County, N.Y., is the first student accepted into the new VMD-MBA degree program at Penn Vet’s Center for Animal Health and Productivity (CAHP) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The VMD-MBA combined-degree program is supported by the Robert Marshak-Vernon Hill Scholarship Fund, named in honor of Dr. Robert Marshak, Penn Vet Dean from 1973-1987. Established with a generous $1 million gift from Vernon and Shirley Hill, the fund supports the training of leaders and entrepreneurs with the vision to advance both the science and business of food animal production in order to help ensure global food security.

Marshak-Hill scholars are required to develop projects that explore the applications of economic and business principles to the health and productivity of livestock industries. The integrated training emphasizes innovative solutions to the complex business, health, environmental, and societal challenges associated with intensive and small-scale livestock and poultry production in a global environment with a rapidly increasing demand for animal-sourced protein.

“The combined-degree program provides students with a unique interchange of knowledge that helps to ensure veterinarians have an important voice in addressing issues of food security both in Pennsylvania and globally,” said Joan C. Hendricks, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Penn. “We are delighted that Melanie is the first student accepted into this program.”

Kirshenbaum is a fourth-year student at Penn Vet with an interest in global health and agricultural development. After finishing her undergraduate studies in economics at Cornell, she worked with international development organizations before pursuing her veterinary education.

She is pursuing the combined VMD-MBA degree in recognition of the integrated nature of health, food, and economic security, as well as the power of industry and multilateral organizations to contribute resources and sustainable interventions in these fields.