Two decades... and growing

by Frank Zolli, DC, EdD, Dean, University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic

The inaugural class of the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic (UBCC) entered their professional program in the fall of 1991. The college consisted of one building, two administrators, one secretary, a basic science faculty, an adjunct chiropractic faculty member, and a lot of dreams.

On September 25, 2011, UBCC will host a 20th anniversary celebration commemorating the start of the first university affiliated chiropractic program in the United States

Since 1991, initial CCE accreditation was achieved (June, 1994), the 10-student inaugural class graduated (December, 1994), and an additional 34 graduation commencement ceremonies have been conducted.

UBCC alumni practice in 28 states, as well as internationally in Canada, Ghana, Iceland, Israel, Japan and Korea. The college maintains a team of full time faculty, mostly doctors of chiropractic, who provide rigorous training in the basic and clinical sciences. Current enrollment is 200 students.

Facilities have grown from the use of only the College of Chiropractic building to include all facilities of a major teaching university including the Wahlstrom Library, Carlson Hall, DANA Hall (housing science labs and the newly renovated gross anatomy dissection lab), and END Hall. Classrooms are high-tech “smart rooms.” Campus communications generally occur wirelessly via the new myUBPortal and the UB digital library is amongst the finest in the nation with full-text access to a staggering array of chiropractic, medical, and scientific journals right from your laptop. This equates to giving the future doctors of chiropractic every academic advantage in the learning process.

Another facility in daily use is the on campus Health Science Center. This is the home of the UB clinics, which house the UBCC clinic, as well as the UB naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and dental hygiene clinics. There are also clinical rotations at the Veterans Administration (VA) facilities, Park City Primary Care and Bridgeport Community Clinics, two interdisciplinary sites in Bridgeport, as well as community-based internship sites throughout Connecticut.

We are living our dream through our commitment of bringing every philosophy of chiropractic to our campus, offering a diverse approach to chiropractic, allowing each student to find his or her path in an integrated health care environment. Our goal is to continue to further chiropractic and this, our 20th year, is a testament to that vision.