On June 2, 1997, a proposal was sent to the Board of Regents by the Department of Biomedical Sciences Steering committee, which was chaired by Dr. Duane Enger. This proposal recommended that the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology be merged into a single Department of Biomedical Sciences, and in July, the Board of Reagents approved the proposal, officially merging the departments. This new department consists of 8 faculty lines from the Department of Veterinary Anatomy, and 12 faculty lines from the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology. The Department of Biomedical Sciences Steering Committee recommended that the department put "an equal value on teaching, research, and service." The committee also suggested a mission statement for the department, which reads, "The Department of Biomedical Sciences plays a primary role in the education of undergraduate, veterinary, and graduate students in physiology, pharmacology and anatomy. It develops and sustains research excellence in areas within these disciplines."