November 2002

Life Names New President

Life University announced November 19 that a leader in higher education --Ben DeSpain, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Tennessee at Martin -- will serve as its second president. DeSpain does not have a degree in chiropractic, unlike Sid Williams, the founder and first president, and Michael Schmidt, who has served as interim president, have degrees in chiropractic. According to Will Hurst, the school’s spokesperson, DeSpain was hired because he has “extensive leadership qualities in higher education.”

In addition to his tenure at the University of Tennessee, DeSpain has also served as the chairman of the Department of Educational Administration and Counseling at South East Missouri State University and as superintendent in several school districts, ranging in size from 1,000 to 10,000 schools. His experience includes dealing with accreditation issues.

DeSpain will be introduced to faculty and students on Friday, November 22 and will take office full-time after January 1, 2003. According to Hurst, it is premature to talk about any changes DeSpain will make to the college, although he does have experience in crisis management. The enrollment in Life’s chiropractic program has dropped to 865 students, down from 2,500 two years ago.

For more in-depth coverage on DeSpain and his plans for Life University, watch for Issue 1 of Chiropractic Economics, available in January 2003!

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