you get a strong sense of her son — a listener, a communicator, a coalition- builder. Dr. Dave focused on the interface of chiropractic and society, and he put in place many of the things that have made it a lasting profession.” Still, Dr. Dave’s first years at the helm of the College were characterized by difficult and often unpopular decisions. When he assumed leadership of Palmer upon B.J.’s passing, he inherited an institution
that had been built up
well beyond its core capacity as a chiropractic college — to the point of dire financial straits. “It was apparent in 1961,” Dr. Dave recalled, “some drastic reorganization was necessary.” That
meant shuttering enterprises
like the printing press and the Clearview Sanitorium, which together he calculated to
be operating at an annual loss
equivalent to nearly a million dollars today. “I had to close it for the sake of quality education at Palmer College,” wrote Dr. Dave of Clearview. As he scrutinized the College’s balance sheets, though,
the Educator of Chiropractic never lost sight of the bigger picture. Even before he took over the presidency, as Palmer’s business manager he had begun articulating a vision grounded in his father’s and grandfather’s legacies but fresh in its focus and clarity: “It was essential that [our students] graduate and attend to the sick people throughout the world. During this time, I had faith, too, in the chiropractic principle… it was a constant reminder that we must survive against adversities.” Once Dr. Dave gained the authority to act on this guiding vision, he began charting a course toward what would prove much more than mere survival. In 1964, he incorporated Palmer as a nonprofit institution, paving the way for the College’s eventual accreditation and its fruitful partnership with alumni, evidenced early on by the fundraising drive to build the new Alumni Auditorium. “This effort not only constructed the building,” Dr. Dave wrote, “but also awakened a giant power in the alumni.”
THE EDUCATOR AT REST
Dr. Dave sits in contemplation in Little Bit O’ Heaven, the exotic garden his father built.
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