The first and only president of Life Chiropractic College West, Gerard W. Clum, DC, has announced that after 30 years as president of the college, he will be stepping down to pursue other areas of interest and need in the chiropractic profession.
"It has been a wonderful journey," remarked Dr. Clum in making this announcement to alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends gathered for the college's annual homecoming events. "I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in the chiropractic profession at this level over these past three decades" Clum noted, "The growth, maturation and impact of the profession and the college during this time have been remarkable".
During his tenure as president of Life Chiropractic College West, the institution, which enjoys an enrollment from 32 states and 22 countries, grew from being housed in a facility leased from the San Lorenzo Unified School District to its present $30 million state-of-the-art location on 11.5 acres with 210,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, office, library, administrative and clinical facilities on Industrial Boulevard near Highway 92 in Hayward.
In addition to being the president of the college, Dr. Clum has been active throughout the state, across the country and around the world in the chiropractic profession as follows:
Dr. Clum began his academic life on the faculty of Palmer College of Chiropractic in the early 1970s. In 1975, he was a founding faculty member of Life Chiropractic College (now Life University). This institution went on to become the largest chiropractic educational program in the world. In 1981, he accepted the presidency of Pacific States Chiropractic College, which had been founded several years earlier by long-time Hayward chiropractor Dr. George E. Anderson.
Later in 1981, under Dr. Clum's leadership, the institution transitioned from Pacific States to Life West. Thirty years later, with over 4,000 alumni practicing throughout the world from the city of Alameda to the nation of Zimbabwe, Life Chiropractic College West is a well-respected institution in the profession and Clum has moved on to be one of the senior statesmen of his field.
"I am looking forward to changing my involvement in the chiropractic profession. This transition will allow me the opportunity to offer greater attention to a range of activities that I never could address while serving as president of Life West," Dr. Clum commented. "Retirement from the presidency of the College is not the same as retirement from the chiropractic profession. That has been and will continue to be the work of my adult life".
In Hayward, the college and Dr. Clum have supported programs such as the Family Emergency Shelter Coalition (FESCO). The college was one of the first organizations beyond the founding faith-based community of FESCO to see the need for the organization and to lend its resources in time, talent and funding in response to family homelessness in the Hayward community.
For most of the 25-year history of FESCO, Dr. Clum has served a member of the agency's board of directors. He has also been a member of the Hayward Rotary club. In October 2000, he was named the Volunteer Business Leader of the Year in Hayward and, in 2001, he was recognized as the Hayward Chamber of Commerce, Businessperson of the Year for 2000.
Dr. Clum and his wife of 36 years, Cathy, live in San Leandro, where they raised their three children. In 1998, their daughter Cassie began working at the college; in 2000, their son Don received his D.C. degree; and, in 2005, their daughter Lauren also received her D.C. degree. Chiropractic has always been a family affair for the Clum family!
Dr. Clum's tenure as president will conclude on Jan. 28, 2011. Following the public announcement of his retirement, Dr. Carl Dieter, chair of the college's Board of Regents, announced the appointment of Brian Kelly, DC, of Auckland, New Zealand, as the second president in the college's history.
Source: Life Chiropractic College West
When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
| Digital Exclusive
A central challenge in creating our identity is that chiropractic is a method of care, not a technique or procedure. This is an important concept for us to promote. Our patients are treated with lifestyle modification, exercise, nutritional supplements, diet and a whole-body approach to accelerate the natural healing process. We are not simply CMT providers.
The results of a global survey released late last year (2023) unveiled some startling findings among medical and nursing students. The “Clinician of the Future: 2023 Education Edition” surveyed 2,212 students, of which 446 were in the United States, from 91 countries.
