At my first board of regent's meeting after being selected president of Texas Chiropractic College, I requested permission to seek state funding and/or affiliation with the state university system. This is something I have been advocating for many years, something for which I had been very critical of Texas Chiropractic College for refusing years ago -- refused for fear of losing their autonomy.
Now nearly three years later, we have just passed Texas Senate Bill #210, which puts us and Parker College of Chiropractic under the coordinating board of the state of Texas. This places us in a position to solicit future legislative action for state funding, and may further my quest to be in the university system.
I know some chiropractic colleges have the fear of losing their autonomy. Others have attained university status of their own, but they still don't have state funding nor the many benefits from being in the system. I am sure other independent branches of the healing arts have suffered the same discrimination, prejudice, wrath, and abuse by political medicine, as has chiropractic.
I look just a few miles from our campus and see a very successful school of optometry within the University of Houston system, just like their schools of law, nursing, pharmacy, engineering, etc. Their main campus has 35,000 students from all over the world. What a blessing this has been for the optometry profession.
Just across the street from the University of Houston School of Optometry is a nice corner piece of property, which I visualize for a chiropractic college within the University of Houston system. Think about it. You would only need the administration, staff, and clinical sciences, along with a beautiful clinic. All the basic sciences are already staffed within the system. The laboratory and research facilities are already there. The library is there. We would be in the catalog for all to see and to stir the interest of the 35,000 students, both domestic and foreign. Our students would receive the benefits of state funding and foundation grants, many of which would be much easier to obtain if we were in the system.
I use the University of Houston as an example because they are located close to Texas Chiropractic College. They had the vision to incorporate the School of Optometry, and I have eyed that building space. However, I would be extremely pleased to have a chiropractic college within the University of Texas system or Texas A&M. Both have medical services. This should tell you that if it wasn't the way to go, the medical schools wouldn't be there.
It is time for the chiropractic profession to shed its paranoia and stand up for what it deserves. We belong in the most prestigious part of the education system in society. The talk of losing our chiropractic autonomy disgusts me to no end. Do you think for one minute that if we are strong enough to get within the system that anyone else could be strong enough to take it away? Furthermore, every other advancement this profession has made has only paved the way for further acceptance and understanding, such as our licensure and hospital privileges.
I commend the chiropractors of Quebec. What a deal they made in getting the government to build an $8.5 million chiropractic college, with the chiropractic profession only putting up a fraction of the cost. I understand a similar effort is being made in England.
I have no quarrel with the colleges that build their own university system, nor those that build beautiful campuses as memorials to their founders. Chiropractic science will outlive us and all our present campuses. Why not integrate into the educational system that has, and will, continue to live on? I thank my board for sharing this vision.
As for me, my ambition and dedication is to use every ounce of my energy to put Texas Chiropractic College in the state university system. I refuse to accept anything less than parity with the other health care professions. Our students and profession deserve this. With the strong efforts and outstanding abilities of the Texas Chiropractic College family, this will become a reality in the near future.
My quest continues!
S.M. Elliott, DC
President, Texas Chiropractic College
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