"The members of the board of trustees are grateful Dr. Schmidt has agreed to serve as interim president," commented Dr. Charles Ribley, chairman of the board of trustees. "His experience in chiropractic education will be invaluable as Life University works to resolve the challenges ahead." Dr. Ribley said the board had "complete confidence in Dr. Schmidt," and was looking forward to working with him.
Dr. Schmidt was Dean of LCCW from 1991 to 2001. He was chairman of the LCCW technique department (1986-1990), and served as chief of staff of the Life West Clinic (1982-1986). From 1975 to 1980, Dr. Schmidt was a faculty member of Life Chiropractic College in Marietta, GA.
"Life University has played a large role in my career as a chiropractor and educator," said Dr. Schmidt. "I appreciate the board of trustees' confidence in me. I look forward to being at Life again, and to meeting and working with the faculty, staff and students to reach solutions to the barriers we face and to continue the positive impact of Life University."
Notice of Intent to Appeal Filed
On July 8, 2002, Life University submitted a notice of intent to file an appeal with the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE). Life now has 30 days to file its appeal documents with the CCE.
The CCE's Commission on Accreditation (COA) would then have 60 days to file a memorandum of response. An appeal panel would then be convened by the CCE president to evaluate the information provided by the COA and Life University. The panel could:
- sustain the COA action of denying renewal of Life's CCE accreditation; or
- ask the COA to reconsider its action, and make recommendations for appropriate action.
Additional Information Revealed
On July 8, 2002, a presentation was made by LCCW President Dr. Gerard Clum,DC, to a special assembly of Life University students. Dr. Clum's presentation gave a review of the events that have led up to the crisis, and the options available to the university.1
Dr. Clum's presentation included the following information:
- The Life Board of Trustees retained an educational consultant at a Washington, D.C. law firm on June 14, 2002.
- A delegation from Life University met with the U.S. Department of Education on June 17, 2002.
- Ron Kirk,DC, resigned as the dean of the Life University College of Chiropractic on July 1, 2002. Dr. Kirk was replaced by acting Dean Deborah Pogrelis,DC, on July 2, 2002.
- The terms of James Sigafoose,DC, and Paul Penn,DC, were not renewed by the Life University Corporate Board on July 3, 2002. The "corporate board" has been dissolved,2 and Drs. Sigafoose and Penn have been reinstated as trustees.
- A search committee hopes to identify a permanent president for Life University by the end of July.
- Five chiropractic colleges have offered to assist Life University's chiropractic program. Cleveland College of Chiropractic and Life Chiropractic College West made formal presentations to the Life Board of Trustees.
- After careful consideration, Life West determined it would not be feasible to assist Life University with a "teach out," or the establishment of an additional location of Life West on the Life University campus.
- Besides the options of a "teach out" or the establishment of a branch of another chiropractic college on its campus, Life University is exploring the possibility of applying for initial CCE accreditation on a compressed timeline.
References
- Dr. Clum's presentation to Life University students. The presentation is available at http://www.life.edu/newlife/boardoftrustees/presentation_notes. pdf. (The file is large and may take a few minutes to load.)
- Questions sent to the Life Board of Trustees and the board's responses. http://www.life.edu/newlife/board oftrustees/questions.html#answers.
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