August 14, 2013 — On Saturday, Aug., 3, 2013 New York Chiropractic College held commencement exercises in the campus’ Standard Process Health 
and Fitness Center. Graduates included 36 Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) candidates, 19 Master of Science in Acupuncture (MSA) or Master of Science in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MSAOM), and 41 Applied Clinical Nutrition (MSACN). In addition there were 24 graduates from the Master of Science in Human Anatomy & Physiology Instruction and one from the Master of Science in Clinical Anatomy.
Commencement speaker, John Weeks, expressed his hope for healthcare’s future and spoke to emerging integrative approaches to healthcare he increasingly observes in traditionally allopathic facilities. Noting the current open discussions identifying wasteful practices and ineffective treatment relating to mainstream healthcare, he is encouraged by the country’s heightened demand for patient-centered care. Mr. Weeks urged his assembled graduates to assume leadership positions and to articulate the values they represent. They are to become agents for change as they enlist the assistance of every sort of healthcare professional who may possibly benefit patients.
Mr. Weeks has been involved in integrative healthcare for nearly 30 years as a writer, organizer, consultant and executive. Former Executive Director for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, Weeks organized annual integrative medicine summits, raised start-up funds for the Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium, and directs the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC).
Weeks serves on the steering committee of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded National Coordinating Center for Integrative Medicine and, since the mid-1990s, has produced the principal newsletter on the policy and business of integration – the Integrator Blog News & Reports (theintegratorblog.com) – and produces related columns for Integrative Practitioner, Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, The Pain Practitioner (AAPM) and The Huffington Post.
Faculty speaker, Heather Heck, DC, MSACN (NYCC ’08) and Student Government Association President Nicholas Maio also addressed the graduates.
Source: New York Chiropractic College, nycc.edu
