When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
Life and Morris Brown Colleges Initiate Dual-degree Program
Students at Morris Brown College in Atlanta can now earn dual degrees from Morris Brown and Life College under a new agreement announced by both schools in December.
Under this program, students at Morris Brown can earn a bachelor of science in Biology or Chemistry, and a doctor of chiropractic degree. Interested students will complete three years of undergraduate "pre-chiropractic" course work, then transfer to Life for completion of course work for the chiropractic degree. Their clinical work will be under the supervision of the Life staff.
Morris Brown College is an historically black, privately operated four-year liberal arts college located near downtown Atlanta. The school was founded in 1881 and is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools with degrees offered in more than 40 areas of study. Morris Brown also offers dual degree programs in architecture and engineering with Georgia Institute of Technology and pre-medicine with Boston University.
"It's distressing to know that out of more than 40,000 chiropractors in America today only a few hundred are black," said Dr. Sid E. Williams, president of Life College. "This tells us that a very significant part of our population may be underserved by the profession."
Dr. Calvert H. Smith, president of Morris Brown College said, "This agreement is another effort to broaden opportunities for our students. This is another step in our college's program of dual degrees in cooperation with other colleges and universities."
"Morris Brown College is an excellent institution and we are pleased to join them in providing additional education opportunities for their students," said Dr. Williams. "They will be well-prepared to begin their careers as front-line health care providers once they have completed this program."
Life Trustee Makes Donation Challenge
During a recent Life College Board of Trustees Meeting, Dr. Kenneth Lipke of Bitville, New York, issued a challenge to the chiropractic profession by pledging $50,000 in matching funds to the college's educational mission. Dr. Lipke says that he plans to donate $10,000 a year for the next five years if the college raises matching funds. His gift will be forwarded after $50,000 has been pledged.
Life President Dr. Sid Williams said that since that time, appeals have gone out to alumni and friends of Life College requesting pledges of $10,000 each to meet the challenge.
Life's first pledge payment came during its homecoming in November, $10,000 from Dr. Andrew H. Krantz and his wife Dr. Kimbrough Williams Krantz. It is the largest single gift ever given by a Life College alumni.
Dr. Kenneth Lipke, a graduate of Palmer College, bought a struggling steel plant in 1972 and turned it into Gibraltar Steel Corporation, a company which has annual sales of over $100 million. His many awards include the 1987 AMVETS Silver Helmet Award for Americanism, an honor formerly bestowed on Harry Truman, J. Edgar Hoover, and Kate Smith among others.
Anyone who is interested in helping to meet this challenge, or who just wants more information, please contact Life College's Developmental Office at 404-424-0554, ext. 280.