McTimoney College principal appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire

On June 14, The McTimoney College of Chiropractic announced that Professor Christina Cunliffe, Principal, has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her outstanding services to healthcare education.

According to the UK’s Honours and Appointments Secretariat, King George V established the Order of the British Empire in 1917 to honor people who had served in a non-combative role and expanded it to reward those who made significant contributions to the arts, sciences, charitable work and public service. The Order consists of five classes: The Dame/Knight Grand Cross, Damehood/Knighthood, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Member of the Order of the British Empire and British Empire Medal recipients. The Officer designation is typically given to those who hold a distinguished regional or county-wide role in any field, through achievement or service to the community. including notable practitioners who are known nationally.

Cunliffe’s lifetime achievements

Cunliffe’s career spans more than four decades, marked by pioneering efforts in healthcare education, with a 25-year focus on developing chiropractic education in the UK and abroad, noted a McTimoney College press release. Serving on the General Chiropractic Council, its Education Committee and Investigating Committee and as Treasurer of the Royal College of Chiropractors, she has been at the forefront of the development of the profession during this time.

Since 1998, Cunliffe has led the McTimoney College of Chiropractic, transforming it from a single-site institution into a global entity with campuses in Oxfordshire, Manchester, Madrid, Hong Kong and soon,  Northern Ireland.

Under her leadership, the McTimoney College has become a beacon for chiropractic education through offering innovative programs that train DCs to work with both human and animal patients, emphasizing access to education for working adults.

A practicing DC, Cunliffe is a Fellow of both the Royal College of Chiropractors and the Royal Society of Biology and holds a PhD from the University of Manchester together with being awarded a personal Chair in Chiropractic by the University of Wales in 2010. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Healthcare Leadership by BPP University in 2021.

Cunliffe’s commitment to integrating chiropractic into the broader healthcare continuum is evident through her role as the founding Dean of the School of Health for a large London-based university, and her active involvement with the Integrated Medicine Alliance.

About the McTimoney College of Chiropractic

The McTimoney College of Chiropractic offers a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes delivered from its premises just outside Oxford, central Manchester, Madrid and Hong Kong.

The McTimoney College of Chiropractic is part of the College of Health and its degrees are awarded by Ulster University.