NUHS Through the Years
1906
National School of Chiropractic Founded in Davenport, Iowa, by John Fitz Alan Howard, DC.
Dr. Howard and young B.J. Palmer clash over their philosophies. So, Dr. Howard, with the blessing of D.D. Palmer, founds the National School to provide a science-based, broad scope approach to chiropractic.
1908
The school moves to Chicago and becomes the first to use a human dissection laboratory in chiropractic education.
National School of Chiropractic opens at 1732 W. Congress, a block away from Cook County Hospital. The hospital admits National students into their diagnostic clinics and pathology labs.
Dr. Howard retires as president in 1919.
1919
William Schulze, MD, DC, is inaugurated as National’s second president. If Dr. Schulze wasn’t the first MD to associate with the chiropractic profession, he was considered the first of the medical profession to see chiropractic in a practical way.
School enlarges facilities and changes name to the National College of Chiropractic.
Dr. Schulze moves the campus to 20 N. Ashland Blvd., where it calls home for the next 43 years. The new location offers more labs, clinical facilities, a dormitory, and recreational space.
1926
Absorbs Lindlahr College of Natural Therapeutics and offers degree program in naturopathy (natural therapeutics) until 1952.
National is the trustee and curator of records for several former chiropractic and healing arts colleges that have closed their doors over time, including Lincoln Chiropractic College and the New York School of Chiropractic.
1945
Joseph Janse, DC (NCC class of ’38) is chosen as National’s fourth president, and begins his legacy in leading chiropractic education toward full accreditation.
Dr. Janse serves as president of NCC for nearly four decades, advancing the field of chiropractic medicine academically, socially, philosophically, and politically.
National becomes the first chiropractic school to acquire regional, state, and professional accreditation.
1963
Opens its new campus, specifically designed for chiropractic education, on a 20-acre parcel in the Village of Lombard.
The college’s first building, now named Janse Hall, housed three lecture halls, a gross anatomy laboratory, five additional labs, a library, and a public clinic.
Today, the Lombard campus boasts 9 buildings and spans over 32 acres.
1972
First educational institution in the U.S. to receive state government authorization to offer acupuncture education.
Before President Nixon opened diplomatic doors to China in 1972, National had already begun acupuncture research and education.
1978
Publishes the first scientific journal for the chiropractic profession—the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.
Today, National University publishes three peer-reviewed and medically-indexed journals for the chiropractic profession:
• Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
• Journal of Chiropractic Medicine
• Journal of Chiropractic Humanities
1984
Lee E. Arnold, DC, is inaugurated as president. During his short tenure, he bridged the gap between two long serving presidents and made a significant impact to expand the campus by purchasing a facility that is still in use today to house academic programs.
1986
James F. Winterstein, DC (NCC class of ’68) is inaugurated as president of NCC, and begins his legacy as a leading champion of primary care chiropractic medicine.
Authoring hundreds of articles, serving as expert witness in the historic Wilkes vs. AMA trial, and winning National its current designation as a Class I medical school for state funding purposes, Dr. Winterstein leads National for the next 27 years through the many program expansions that define the University today.
1999
Adds a new massage therapy program featuring graduate level faculty. It is one of the few to use human cadavers to study anatomy.
Becomes the only chiropractic school to require a baccalaureate degree for admission, thereby raising its academic standards to the highest in the profession.
National University also maintains the highest GPA and prerequisite requirements of any other DC program.
2000
Name changes to National University of Health Sciences and begins to forge a campus devoted to integrative medicine.
Changing from a college to a university structure laid the foundation to add undergraduate programs, multiple professional degrees, master’s degrees, and postgraduate education.
2005
Adds Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences degree completion program featuring graduate-level faculty and facilities.
2006
Celebrating a “Century of Excellence” since its founding in 1906, National University of Health Sciences launches additional programs:
• Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND)
• Master of Science in Acupuncture (MSAc)
• Master of Science in Oriental Medicine (MSOM)
NUHS accepts its first classes in Fall 2006 for the ND, MSAc, and MSOM programs.
Also launches a master’s degree in diagnostic imaging and an associate of
applied science degree in massage therapy.
2009
NUHS opens a new site in St. Petersburg, Florida, offering the Doctor of Chiropractic degree.
First class starts in Fall 2009.
NUHS participates in a unique campus sharing program through the University Partnership Center at St. Petersburg College, and offers two clinics in the Tampa Bay area serving the students, staff, and faculty of St. Petersburg College and the community of Pinellas County.
2013
Joseph P.D. Stiefel, MS, EdD, DC (NUHS class of ’04) is inaugurated as sixth president of National University of Health Sciences.
The first graduate of National’s master of science in diagnostic imaging program, Dr. Stiefel serves on the university’s faculty before becoming the first dean of its Florida DC program. Under his leadership, the university continues to focus on broad scope primary care practice for professional degree programs, and deepens its committment to integrative medicine.
2017
Clinical Practice Residency started in the Lincoln College in 1987, and ended in the summer of 2004, when it became the Master of Science in Advanced Clinical Practice (MSACP). While the program was started in 2004, in 2017 the MSACP moved to the College of Allied Health Sciences and Distance Education as an online degree program. The online format makes it more convenient for working professionals to take advantage of the degree and advance their clinical practice. The MSACP allows DCs, NDs, MDs and DOs to integrate their new knowledge directly into patient care while they are completing the degree. It also serves as a pathway for students seeking PhD preparation in clinical health care disciplines.
2022
Home to more than 12,000 medicine and biology book titles, 175,000 digital publications and more, NUHS’ library was rededicated in April to President Emeritus Dr. James F. Winterstein, NCC Class of ’68, during Homecoming 2022. Dr. Winterstein served NUHS as its president from 1986 to 2013.
2023
NUHS launched the Doctor of Acupuncture Completion (DAc-C) program in the summer of 2023 for individuals already holding a master’s degree in acupuncture or Oriental Medicine, and the Doctor of Acupuncture (DAc) program in the fall of 2023 for students just beginning their careers in acupuncture.