Palmer cracks down on critics

Academic freedom has apparently become the latest victim of the new administration at Palmer Chiropractic College, with one more speaker being "uninvited" to campus functions and another harassed for canceling a speaking engagement at the school.

Gene Cretsinger, DC, chair of the International Chiropractors Association Assembly, had been invited by the Vice President of the Palmer Student Alumni, Jim Bolton, to speak to students on their regular "Spizz Night" event in July.

He was told that he would share the platform with an ACA spokesperson and speak about their ideologies on the direction of Palmer College and chiropractic. A question and answer session was to follow the presentations. 

Dr. Cretsinger accepted the invitation, only to learn later that the college administration would not "approve" him as a speaker.

In a letter to Palmer Interim President Donald Kern, DC, Cretsinger noted that, "I know I differ with you and the ACA on the actions Palmer is taking to shape the education of the students, yet I do not understand why you would deny me the opportunity to voice my ideas regarding this direction. You say Palmer is an ICA and an ACA college. I pay my dues to the PCC Alumni Association. I am Chairman of the ICA Representative Assembly, the President of the Distinguished Fellows of the ICA and on the ICA Executive Committee. I cannot say that the ICA organization is in agreement with all of my ideas about Palmer but I can say that the ICA has appreciated the ideas I hold about chiropractic and my work in understanding the philosophy establishing chiropractic as an essential worldwide health component."

He then asked Dr. Kern, to "explain to me why I was denied opportunity to speak to the students attending the Spizz Night event."

Another scheduled speaker, Barbara Loe Fisher, founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), declined to speak at the school after Palmer "uninvited" Terry A. Rondberg, DC, President of the World Chiropractic Alliance from its homecoming.

In a letter to Kern (reprinted in this issue) she explained that, "If Dr. Riekeman and Dr. Rondberg are not welcome on your campus because they do not share the same values and philosophy that you and the new administration do, then I am quite sure you would be uncomfortable with my presentation. I have never canceled a presentation for other than personal health or family reasons but I cannot speak on a campus where my friends and loyal supporters are not welcome."

In response, she told Rondberg, Clay Tuttle, DC, Palmer Director of Alumni sent her "several nasty notes" and demanded that she pay for the airplane tickets the school had purchased for her trip. Before she could make arrangement to pay for the unused tickets, the school turned the account over to an attorney. 

The heavy handed actions apparently weren't limited to outsiders, however. According to one report, unverified at press time, the school has also closed the Palmer mansion, supposedly in order to inventory its contents.

Students reported that on August 2, 2004, Palmer security guards escorted Jolene Mesch, the Mansion Coordinator out of her office and changed the locks. Alana Calander, the head of Palmer's history foundation and her assistant, Roger Hines arrived at their offices to find their locks had already been changed. 

Days earlier, the college announced that it was purchasing a three‑story building at 300 Brady St. to house the Palmer Family Museum, a private museum that would be owned and run by Vickie Anne Palmer, who chairs the Palmer College board of trustees. The building would also be headquarters of the Vickie Anne Palmer Foundation and Ms. Palmer's World Leadership Institute.

Larry Patten, a former chief operating officer of Palmer University, serves as president of both the Palmer foundation and the World Leadership Institute. He resigned his COO position in 1997 after an investigation into possible spending irregularities led students and alumni to pass a "vote of no confidence."

The timing of the actions led some students to wonder if the Mansion's contents would be appropriated for Ms. Palmer's personal museum. One student wrote to the WCA and asked, "Is it a conflict of interest for the Chair of a Board whose responsibility it is to protect the assets of the Palmer Foundation for Chiropractic History to open a museum, under another foundation which the Chair owns, and coerce the board to transfer artifacts to her privately owned museum?"

Feeling a backlash from students and alumni, the school did manage to diffuse another potentially explosive situation.

It had been rumored that the school would not permit former President Guy F. Riekeman, DC, to attend the graduation of his daughter and son‑in‑law. According to the Quad City Times he was permitted on campus for the event only after "several weeks of negotiations between attorneys for the school and for Riekeman." The school's official statement implied that the reason for its action was to "maintain the dignity and decorum of the graduation ceremony for all students and families."

Other supporters of Riekeman have felt the brunt of Palmer's displeasure in recent months.

William Jarr, former vice president of operations and finance, was fired shortly after Riekeman's resignation. He has since filed a lawsuit in Scott County District Court against the school, saying he was dismissed without cause and that the termination of compensation and benefits was a breach of his contract.

Several others who served under Riekeman have either resigned or been fired.