University of Wisconsin’s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab has narrowed its search for a director to three people.

The Veterinary Diagnostic Lab program runs a variety of tests necessary to ensure the health of agricultural animals in a state where agriculture is central to the economy: America’s Dairyland.

The three finalists are Mark Ackermann, Iowa State University, Philip Bochsler, Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and Hemant Naikare, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory.

The position requires someone who supervises how the lab is run, the direction and tone of the lab and someone to provide guidance for the testing that happens in the lab, Peter Vanderloo, interim director of the lab, said.

Eighty percent of the veterinary lab’s testing comes from the cattle industry and the other 20 percent includes other agricultural animals and a smaller number of pets and service animals, Vanderloo said.

“Wisconsin claims to be the dairy state, so we support that,” Vanderloo said.

Committee members were appointed last fall with the intention of representing a diverse range of interests from the lab, Mark Markel, dean of UW’s school of veterinary medicine and chair of the search committee, said.

The committee included staff and students from the school of veterinary medicine as well as representatives from the agriculture industry, Markel said.

The three finalists will visit UW’s campus for interviews, presentations and meetings March 26, March 27 and April 8, Markel said.

After the finalists go through the interviewing process, Chancellor Rebecca Blank will be the ultimate appointing authority, Vanderloo said.