PALMER COLLEGE FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST COUNCIL ON CHIROPRACTIC
> EDUCATION:  Release From Palmer College, Davenport, Iowa-
"Chancellor
> Michael E. Crawford announced today that the Palmer Chiropractic
> University System, including both its Iowa and California
> corporations, has filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin against the Council 
on
> Chiropractic Education (CCE), charging that the CCE deprived 
Palmer
> of appropriate representation in its recent CCE reorganization
> process.  Palmer's claim (representing Palmer College of 
Chiropractic
> in Iowa and Palmer College of Chiropractic West in California) was
> filed Dec. 5 in Jefferson County (Wis.) Circuit Court. The claim
> asserts five causes of action in which Palmer alleges that the 
CCE-
> the chiropractic profession's principal educational accrediting
> agency-deprived Palmer of its rights of representation in the CCE
> corporate organization. The reorganization process that Palmer is
> challenging, Crawford said, includes the CCE's attempt to dissolve
> itself as a Wisconsin corporation and become and operate as an
> Arizona corporation. The Palmer lawsuit claims that these actions
> were taken in violation of the CCE's own bylaws and articles of
> incorporation.
>
> In assessing the impact of the lawsuit on Palmer's own 
accreditation
> status with the CCE, Guy F. Riekeman, D.C., president of the Palmer
> colleges, said: "It's important for all to recognize that the
> Commission on Accreditation (COA) is a separate division within 
the
> CCE. Issues relating to educational standards stand apart from 
those
> relating to corporate structure. We do not expect that the CCE 
would
> make any effort to influence the COA with regard to the unrelated
> issues relative to accreditation. We are proceeding with our
> relationship with the COA as though this other issue were not on 
the
> table. This is about corporate structure rather than about how to
> apply educational standards. We trust that the professionals on all
> sides will remember the distinction."
>
> "Palmer has always complied with CCE standards and held 
accredited
> status and will continue to comply with those standards to ensure
> accreditation for its students. This lawsuit will not affect 
faculty,
> students or prospective students," President Riekeman said.  The 
COA
> recently sent site teams to visit both Palmer College and Palmer
> College West as well as to the extension of the Palmer program in
> Port Orange, Fla. The site team reports are in preparation and final
> recommendations to the COA are yet to be determined, Dr. 
Riekeman
> said.
>
> Chancellor Crawford said Palmer had been "working on this for 
more
> than a year. Palmer and others have made substantial efforts to
> obtain CCE voluntary compliance with its own articles and bylaws, 
all
> to no avail.  Palmer must step forward at this time or live with the
> consequences of letting chiropractic accreditation be vulnerable to
> arguments that are politically based rather than appropriate
> standards for accreditation.
>
> "Our decision to take this step at this time is ultimately about
> integrity not only of the Palmer colleges and the accreditation
> process but of chiropractic education itself," the chancellor said.
> According to court documents, Palmer is asking the Wisconsin
> court "for judgment if necessary to restore the status quo ante,
> injunctions as remedies supplemental to the foregoing declaratory
> judgments, requiring the defendants or the successors to the
> Individual Defendants to (i) reverse the dissolution of CCE as a
> Wisconsin corporation and its subsequent domestication as an 
Arizona
> corporation, (ii) restore the CCE governance to a condition in which
> there are 'no members who are not directors,' (iii) require CCE to
> restore separate voting status on the Board to Palmer Davenport 
and
> Palmer West, and (iv) to take no further actions that are
> inconsistent with the Articles."
>
> The lawsuit names both the CCE and four of its officers as
> defendants. Sued in their official capacities are Paul D. Walker, 
CCE
> executive vice-president; Reed B. Phillips, president of the CCE
> board of directors; James F. Winterstein, chairman of the corporate
> board; and Joseph C. Brimhall, chairman of the CCE's Commission on
> Accreditation (COA).  The Palmer lawsuit against the CCE comes 
during
> a turbulent period for chiropractic college accreditation. Life
> University in Marietta, Ga., lost its CCE-accredited status this
> year. However, Crawford said Palmer's action was not connected to 
the
> CCE's decision regarding Life's accreditation and that Palmer had
> filed its suit completely independent of any group of Life
> supporters.
>
> "We have been laboring with the issues relating to corporate
> organization since long before Life lost its accreditation and 
indeed
> ours is an entirely separate issue from educational standards and 
how
> they are applied. We are not interested at all in second-guessing 
how
> the CCE ruled with regard to Life University," Crawford said. "What
> we are interested in is having an accrediting agency that is
> representative of all chiropractic colleges and that, in so far as
> possible, is above chiropractic politics. In that regard, we are
> confident in saying that Palmer's action represents a broad range 
of
> professional interests across the chiropractic philosophical 
spectrum
> who share Palmer's objective to preserve full representation of 
the
> profession. This is hardly an issue for Palmer alone-it affects all
> graduates of all chiropractic colleges. Palmer has exercised its
> responsibility as The Fountainhead of Chiropractic Education to
> redress the wrong."
>
> Crawford said that Palmer's objective in the lawsuit is to have the
> CCE's former corporate structure restored "and then move on from
> there." That would mean "bringing all the chiropractic colleges 
back
> to the table to establish by proper legal means an accrediting body
> that is objective, constructive and professional."  Chancellor
> Crawford said Palmer "had no choice but to take legal action 
because
> the CCE's actions have called into question the legality of its
> corporate structure and hence the legitimacy of the CCE as an
> accrediting body. Chiropractic education must have confidence in 
the
> accreditation process and that certainly requires legal stability of
> its primary accrediting agency."