William Meeker, DC, MPH, has been named the new president of Palmer College of Chiropractic West (PCCW) in San Jose, Calif. Dr. Meeker had been director of the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR) and vice president for research at the main Palmer campus in Davenport, Iowa.
A 1982 graduate of Palmer West, Dr.
"I'm truly humbled by the opportunity to serve Palmer College in this role, but I'm especially honored to be able to contribute to the ongoing success of the West Campus, where I received my education," said Dr. Meeker. These are exciting times for Palmer College and chiropractic education as a whole, and I'm looking forward to making great things happen."
Peter Martin, DC, who had been serving as president of both Palmer West and Palmer Chiropractic College Florida in Port Orange, will remain as president of Palmer Florida. Commenting on Dr. Meeker's appointment, Martin said, "Dr. Meeker is both a colleague and a very good friend. I'm honored to be able to hand over the reins to him as he leads the West Campus forward. I think it's a mark of maturity that one of the West Campus' own will now serve as its president."
Christine Goertz Choate, DC, PhD, will assume the role of PCCR director, effective Jan. 3, 2007, the day Dr. Meeker officially assumes the presidency at Palmer West. She will oversee Palmer's research efforts from a new office in Washington, D.C., allowing the college to coordinate government relations activities. Dr. Goertz Choate was deputy director of the Samueli Institute for Information Biology in Alexandria, Va., and was the first chiropractor hired by the National Institutes of Health, serving as a health sciences administrator at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Bethesda, Md. In 2006, the American Chiropractic Association recognized her with the George McClelland Researcher of the Year award.
According to Larry Patten, Palmer College CEO, Dr. Meeker's appointment will help ensure the quality of education for Palmer students: "This is a significant day in the history of Palmer College. With Dr. Donald Kern on the Davenport Campus, Dr. Martin in Florida and Dr. Meeker on our West Campus, we now have a complete presidential leadership team to effectively support our structure of one college with three campuses."