Life University's Board of Trustees has appointed Michael J. Schmidt, D.C., as interim president following the resignation of the school's founder and president, Sid Williams, D.C., at the request of the Board. All other members of the Williams family employed at Life, including his wife Nell and daughter Kim, also resigned.

"It's a sad experience for us. but we've accepted it," he commented in his first official statement since the accreditation turmoil began. Dr. Williams did not close the door completely on future involvement with the college. "When this accreditation cloud begins to dissipate, certainly we're going to be interested in Life University again and in developing a chancellor's office possibility [for me]," he added.

Williams founded the college in 1974 and built it into the largest chiropractic educational facility in the world. Williams himself held leadership positions in many chiropractic organizations, including president of the International Chiropractors Association from 1982-85, and its Chairman of the Board from 1985-95. He also served on the legislative committee of the CCE, as well as the Board of Directors of the CCE's Commission on Accreditation.

The school was put on probation in June 2001 for unspecified "deficiencies toward compliance with the requirements of The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) Standards for Doctor of Chiropractic Programs and Institutions (Standards)."

According to Life officials, numerous steps were taken during the past year to meet CCE standards. However, on June 10, 2002, the CCE announced that it had revoked Life's accreditation status, pending appeal of its decision.

The CCE cited a number of areas of non-compliance, including planning and evaluation of educational programs and administrative and educational support services, academic and professional preparation, organization and administration and financial resources.

"We all put a superb effort into this," Williams argued. "We had plenty of time to prepare and we were superb. But in their opinion, it wasn't good enough. ... I'm not accusing the commission of any wrongdoing, except we believe we made it."

The school continues to be accredited during the appeal process, which officially began on July 8. The CCE has 60 days to respond to the document and sets a date for a hearing. The entire process could take between 90 and 120 days, with the final decision issued sometime between early September and November.

Although some Life officials privately conceded that the resignation of Sid Williams and Williams family members will permit the school to make whatever changes are necessary to satisfy the CCE, no one would publicly speculate about the final outcome.

During a special student assembly held on July 8, Gerard W. Clum, D.C., president of Life Chiropractic College West, admitted, "I'm not pessimistic and I'm not optimistic. It's an uphill battle. There's a lot of hard work ahead. All the breaks have to fall in the right order for this to happen. ... I continue to be cautious as I approach this thing on your behalf. But the bottom line is -- this is going to need more time to play out."

For years, both the school and the profession have been split between supporters and detractors of "Dr. Sid," as he is often called.

While accusing him of perpetuating the outdated "one-cause, one-cure" concept of chiropractic, others have said he is too tolerant of medicalized chiropractic.

On the other hand, his supporters have proven equally enthusiastic in their praise, crediting him with almost single-handedly safeguarding chiropractic philosophy by opposing the medical chiropractic contingent.

The same split of opinion surfaced in regard to the motive for the CCE's accreditation decision, the debate becoming whether the real reason for the CCE action was educational standards or chiropractic philosophy.

An online petition in support of Life (www.defendersofchiropractic.com) gave doctors and students a forum for their opinions on the issue.

"Time to expose CCE! CCE is a bias agency dedicated to restricting the spectrum of chiropractic care and limiting chiropractic's advancement by funneling the scope of practice down to a pseudo medical profession," wrote one New Jersey doctor.

"As an alumni," he continued, "I am proud that Life University has always offered a diverse education which encompassed the entire spectrum of chiropractic including the CCE demanded ability to diagnose. ... CCE misrepresents my chiropractic."

A South Carolina doctor, expressed similar sentiments when he wrote, "B.J. Palmer chiropractic will survive with or without CCE. Non-chiropractic, CCE-oriented protocol may be involved with financial loaning but chiropractic existed just fine without CCE and or loans. I vote for a return to our roots of B.J. Palmer chiropractic. If Life college wants CCE approval, that's their business. But CCE is rearing its head because that's what the government control folks like to do."

Even non-chiropractors see the dispute as a tug of war between philosophical camps.

In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) article on June 23, Williams Jarvis, head of the National Council Against Health Fraud and long-time critic of chiropractic, was quoted as saying that the CCE "is trying to bring chiropractic into the mainstream. It's the progressives against the historical chiropractors."

Life's faltering finances have also sparked concern.

The school's enrollment has been in steady decline, dropping by 20% from 1997 to 2000 and the college posted losses of $2.3 million in 1999 and $1.7 million in 2000.

Arch Culbreth, president of the Georgia Chiropractic Association, told AJC reporters: "We hate to say we told you so but we knew this was coming for a long time. We've had some real problems with that college. They have the most students who've defaulted on student loans and their standards for accepting students are generally lower."

Whether the CCE's decision was or was not politically motivated is of secondary interest to students who are trying to decide what they should do next.

Many have already invested thousands of dollars in tuition, or taken out large student loans to cover the cost of their education. According to the AJC, some students have already met with attorneys to determine what legal recourse they may have for recovering money already paid to the school, if it fails to regain accreditation.

Other students have transferred to chiropractic institutions without accreditation problems, or are planning to.

"I have friends who have already packed up; they've left," said Akiba Green a student from Gainesville, Fla. in an AJC report. "They're afraid they're going to have to transfer anyway. A lot of people had faith in the administration. We feel, basically, taken advantage of."

If the appeal fails, the school will have to close its doors. Still, Life officials say they are determined not to let that happen. They hope to convince the CCE that they can make the needed changes in the school and comply with all CCE standards.

In addition, they explored other possible solutions, including merger with another chiropractic college. Three schools were considered possible candidates for merger or a partnership agreement: Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic, Cleveland Chiropractic College, and Life Chiropractic College West.

However, during the school assembly presentation on July 8, Clum announced that Life West had already "concluded that it is not feasible for Life West to proceed" with such an arrangement.

Although Cleveland was still continuing its "due diligence" regarding what assistance it might offer Life, the CCE noted that its accreditation policies have no provisions for mergers or partnerships between chiropractic schools. A more likely scenario would be for the school to close and arrange a "teach-out" with another college, to ensure that all current students would be given the opportunity to complete their education at an accredited school.

Clum explained that under such an arrangement, the Life program must cease operations and the teach-out agreement must be submitted to the CCE for approval. The teach-out proposal would also have to be approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which also accredits Life University, and possibly the U.S. Department of Education and state education agencies.

Finding a solution that will be in the best interest of the students is the main concern for most of the administrators still working at Life.

Newly appointed president of the Board of Trustees Charles Ribley, D.C., told the AJC, "[Life has] 2,600 students; we're concerned about them. That's the priority."