January 04, 2003	  	 

Life president: We didn¼t want to sue

MARIETTA ã Dr. Ben DeSpain said he never wanted to go to court. 
01/04/03

Phillip Giltman
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
 
MARIETTA ã Dr. Ben DeSpain said he never wanted to go to court.
The new president of Life University said he hoped to avoid the 
lawsuit that the school filed against the Council on Chiropractic 
Education on Thursday.
„Working in the world of academics and considering myself a 
rational thinker, I always thought the best approach in working 
things out was to sit down and reach an understanding that would 
be mutually acceptable for all parties,¾ he said. „Going to court has 
always been a last resort.¾
In Thursday¼s lawsuit, Life asked a U.S. District Court to immediately 
reinstate the school¼s chiropractic accreditation. The lawsuit claims 
the Arizona-based CCE acted unfairly in revoking Life¼s chiropractic 
accreditation in June.
The CCE had no comment.
DeSpain said federal Judge Charles Moye should decide soon 
whether to grant an injunction and immediately reinstate Life as an 
accredited institution.
„The judge can rule in a number of ways, but I¼m pretty optimistic 
we will get injunctive relief,¾ he said. „I think it is clear, even to the 
layman, that our due process was denied and it continues to be 
denied.¾
Moye said Friday night that he did not want to discuss the 
particulars of the case.
DeSpain said he knew he was going to take legal recourse against 
the CCE when they refused late last year to reconsider Life¼s 
application for re-accreditation in a timely manner.
The CCE told Life University that the accrediting body requires a 
two-year-window of compliance before a school can apply for 
accreditation. According to Life, the CCE told the school that the 
window started in June ã when accreditation was lost ã meaning 
the school could first reapply in June 2004 with the hopes of being 
accredited in January 2005.
„That¼s when we saw that the CCE had no interest in working with 
us to restore a timeline or a process for re-accreditation,¾ Life 
spokesman Will Hurst said Friday. „We made a request to have that 
two-year window discussed, and they did not put that request on 
their agenda.¾
Hurst said he never received an answer from the CCE as to why 
Life¼s request was left off the agenda.
DeSpain said the lawsuit, which officials began working on Dec. 6, 
will also be seeking monetary damages from the CCE.
„The damage has been done because of the actions of the 
accrediting body,¾ he said. „That includes faculty, staff and people 
who have been laid off. Students¼ careers have been disrupted and 
somone needs to pay for that disruption.¾
Since Life lost its chiropractic accreditation, the Marietta institution 
has witnessed its student enrollment drop to less than 300 from a 
high of 3,200 two years ago, according to the lawsuit. The drop in 
enrollment equals about $37 million, assuming each student pays 
$13,000 per year on tuition.
The university once boasted an operating budget of about $50 
million a year. 
When asked is Life can stay financially afloat while the Marietta 
institution wades through this unprecedented accreditation crisis, 
DeSpain responded yes and no.
„The assets are here to survive,¾ he said. „Whether they can be 
converted to liquidity is the issue.¾
DeSpain said Life University owns several key properties across 
campus that will help sustain the university financially.
„We are mostly driven by tuition dollars but there are a number of 
people who are interested in buying some of that property and 
turning it into (cash),¾ he said.
pgiltman@mdjonline.com