1974 — This was a year of historic firsts for the chiropractic profession. On August 26 the U.S. Office of Education (USOE), a division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, informed the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) that its application for recognition from USOE had been approved.

Dr. George Haynes, circa 1968

Although the strenuous efforts of many chiropractors, beginning with the National Chiropractic Association’s director of education, John Nugent, DC, had made this milestone possible, one particular individual stands out among the rest for his work to bring about this recognition. George H. Haynes, DC, MS, administrative dean of the LACC since 1953, had served as CCE’s first president in 1971, and continued his interactions with the USOE for the next three years.

Haynes conducted the necessary educational research, prepared the reports, and in collaboration with Orval Hidde, DC, JD, met repeatedly with USOE officials to secure this status.

The CCE’s recognition by the federal government made the students of its accredited colleges eligible for guaranteed student loans, provided an additional and legitimizing criterion for licensure by the various state boards of chiropractic examiners, and secured eligibility for member colleges to apply for federal grants for research and educational development. The chiropractic profession had finally entered the mainstream of higher education in the United States.