New York Chiropractic College to Graduate Doctors of Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Professionals

New York Chiropractic College is proud to announce its upcoming commencement exercises scheduled to take place July 2006. On July 29 and 30, NYCC will confer graduate degrees upon candidates for Doctor of Chiropractic and Master of Science in Acupuncture or Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, respectively. On Saturday, July 29 at 10:00 AM, 32 candidates for the degree of Doctor of Chiropractic will be awarded their diplomas in a ceremony to be held in the campus’ Delavan Theater. The commencement address will be delivered by Dr. Karen Erickson, NYCC Class of 1988 - the first chiropractor to be credentialed by a major teaching hospital in the United States. In 2000, Dr. Erickson was invited to join Beth Israel’s Continuum Center for Health and Healing in New York, where she currently serves on its faculty. A frequent speaker at conferences on chiropractic and integrative health care, Erickson has also authored two chapters on the subject. In 2003 Dr. Erickson graced the cover of New York Magazine in a piece entitled “Meet the New Super Chiropractors.” On Sunday, July 30 at 10:00 AM, the College will graduate its very first class from the NYCC School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine as 28 masters’ candidates take the stage. Marilee Murphy, the College’s Dean of Graduate Program in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, will read the candidates’ names and President Dr. Frank J. Nicchi, President, will hood the new graduates. Kevin V. Ergil, Director of the Graduate Program in Oriental Medicine and Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences at Touro College, will deliver the commencement address. A practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, Mr. Ergil is a practicing licensed acupuncturist (New York and California) and herbalist, having studied East Asian medicine since 1980. Mr. Ergil is a former director and current adviser for the Society for Acupuncture Research. In addition, he served as past president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and as founding dean of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine’s New York Campus. Ergil also served as Director of Research and as Chair of the Department of Acupuncture at the New York College for Holistic Health Education & Research (now the New York College for Health Professions), and as representative to the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from 1991 to 2000, where he chaired the Research Information and the Core Curriculum committee. NYCC President Nicchi expressed “extreme pride” that the College would soon graduate its first class of acupuncture and Oriental medicine professionals, and added, “I’m thrilled that we successfully achieved our goal to establish upstate New York’s first acupuncture and Oriental medicine masters program.” First consideration for the College’s expansion into the field of acupuncture and Oriental medicine occurred in 1995. Dr. Nicchi feels that the new AOM program is a perfect fit with the College’s chiropractic program, as acupuncture and chiropractic have long shared close ties. “Many chiropractors work with acupuncturists and refer patients to them,” he explained. Acupuncture is readily accepted by today’s public and has earned respect and acceptance within mainstream healthcare systems. Of the newly graduating AOM students, Dr. Nicchi commented, “They are about to enter a healthcare market that eagerly welcomes professionals skilled in the arts and science of Eastern medicine. Their career options are rife with opportunity.” For further information about New York Chiropractic College’s degree programs in Chiropractic and Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, please visit our Web site at: