GRENADA -- Classes will resume today at St. George's University, which was closed for a semester because of Hurricane Ivan damage, officials said. Students were temporarily relocated to affiliated institutions in the United States. St. George's University was originally founded as a school of medicine in 1976 by an act of Granada's parliament. Since then, the school has graduated more than 5,000 physicians, who have practiced medicine in more than 30 countries around the world. August 1999 marked the conception of the School of Veterinary Medicine. About 250 students enrolled during the program's inaugural year, and the university graduated the charter class Oct. 18, 2003, at the United Nations Building. Veterinary medicine students study the first three years of the program in Grenada, and their final clinical year is completed at one of the university's affiliated veterinary schools in the United States or the United Kingdom. St. George's student body reflects a strong commitment to international education, with more than 85 countries represented on campus. The university also boasts a multinational, 800-member faculty of full professors, associate and assistant professors and instructors. Reprinted from observer-reporter.com/miamiherald.com