In 2011, the deans of five west region colleges of veterinary medicine came together to discuss ways in which their colleges might effectively collaborate to address important issues faced by the profession and the colleges. The result was formation of the Consortium of West Region Colleges of Veterinary Medicine. Recognizing that improving educational practices was a primary shared concern, the deans and their representatives chose establishment and support of a Regional Teaching Academy as the first initiative of the new consortium.

Today, the Academy has 87 members from seven west region colleges of veterinary medicine, these include: Colorado State University, MidWestern University, Oregon State University, University of Arizona, University of California – Davis, Washington State University, and Western University of Health Sciences. Academy members represent a wide range of disciplines, educational interests and experience, and career stages.

The mission of the Regional Teaching Academy is to ensure that the members of the consortium collaborate to develop, implement, and sustain the best practices in veterinary medical and biomedical education in our colleges, and to establish veterinary medical educator/biomedical educator as a valued career track. Through these efforts we hope to meet the needs of society and the profession.