Deja vu: New head for Life University

Kristina Torres - Staff
Friday, March 5, 2004

Former Life University President Ben DeSpain doesn't go through life anticipating doom or second-guessing himself. His former employer apparently doesn't, either, with its triumphant announcement Thursday of President Guy Riekeman's hiring.

The news came barely 24 hours after DeSpain resigned, and it brings the embattled Marietta chiropractic school nearly full circle in its fight to stay open, accredited and relevant.

Riekeman, widely known in the chiropractic world, is considered charismatic and a people person, a longtime educator with a reputation for recruiting students and raising money.

Above all, unlike DeSpain, whose tenure lasted 15 months, he is a chiropractor. His hiring is seen as a coup, because he had been leading Life's chief rival, the Palmer University System.

"This man stands head and shoulders above any man I have seen in leadership in this profession," said William Harris of Albany, a chiropractor for 65 years who knows Riekeman. "This is now a rebirth of this Life college."

Of course, all this would seem to have a familiar ring: Life founder and longtime leader Sid Williams also was charismatic and a people person, having built what during the 1990s became the nation's largest chiropractic school, with 3,500 chiropractic students and an 89-acre campus peppered with statuary that, even today, bears his likeness.

But the business of Life began crumbling in mid-2001, with a critical review questioning school operations by a key academic accrediting agency. The next year, the Council on Chiropractic Education revoked Life's accreditation because of academic and management issues

The school retained its chiropractic standing, but enrollment plummeted. Life has not been the same since, limping along with 750 chiropractic students among its 1,250-student body, reduced programming and a recent proposal to sell the campus to a neighboring institution --- Southern Polytechnic State University --- to erase a $31 million debt.

Still, Thursday's leadership change, announced at a morning assembly, surprised many.

"I'm just shocked they didn't offer Dr. DeSpain an opportunity to see that college further along," said Linda Denham, a Life graduate and former president of the Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners, who nonetheless called Riekeman "a wonderful, wonderful person." Third-year chiropractic student Mike Green said students are generally supportive. "This guy, supposedly, he knows his stuff," Green said. "The previous president, he did a good job. But [Riekeman] has a lot more to offer."

With the support of Life's board, DeSpain made several difficult, necessary cutbacks, including axing the school's athletic program.

He saw the school through a probationary review by the academic accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which last December agreed to give the school another year to correct finance and governance issues. The association's Tom Benberg said the leadership change is not necessarily worrisome, because the primary issue is compliance.

DeSpain on Thursday was not available for comment, and he did not return phone calls. Life board Chairman Charles Ribley said when DeSpain "came to us, I believe his comment was, 'I am a troubleshooter.' He did not come for the long term."

Ribley added that with Life having regained relative stability, the next step was to "bring in a president who would be in a position to reach out to the chiropractic community at large." Ribley declined to reveal Riekeman's salary.

The new Life president, who is 54, was Palmer's chancellor up until last month, when he and that school's governing board had a falling-out that resulted in his resignation. Riekeman, speaking generally, said disagreements emerged over governance issues and "it reached a point that I didn't want to continue. Because of my stature, in less than 24 hours, I had people calling," including Life.

Palmer board members on Thursday issued two statements. One wished Riekeman well. The other said they and Riekeman had communication issues, and Riekeman didn't want to go along with their prescribed fixes.

Life trustee Tom Klapp said Riekeman talked to Life trustees about what happened, and that it was "logical. We could relate to it. It was a difference in management philosophies."