Adjusting to retirement


The “voice of graduation” and Gross Anatomy I instructor who taught thousands of Palmer students retires after 48 years.


On a winter morning that would once have been filled by lecture prep and grading, Craig Mekow is finally working through a stack of novels that’s been piling up for decades. An 800-page mystery will soon be followed by a John Grisham paperback. Retirement, after all, requires adjustment, especially for someone who spent 48 years orienting his life around the academic calendar. Mekow retired from Palmer College of


Chiropractic last fall, closing a chapter that began in 1977. He came to Palmer almost by accident, spotting a position in the Chronicle of Higher Education and delivering a lecture


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(on the humerus) that led to a job offer from Douglas Baker, D.C. (`70), who at the time was chair of the Anatomy Program. “I knew little about chiropractic back then,” Mekow admits. “But I ended up in the right place. Palmer became home, and it shaped my life’s work.” Over nearly five decades, Mekow taught in the Life Sciences Department, chaired both anatomy and life sciences, served as a faculty senator, and worked under eight of Palmer’s last 10 chancellors and presidents. He may be best known for instructing Gross Anatomy I, a requirement for every first-year student.


“We have students from all over the world, and I always wanted Palmer to feel like home for them too. When they feel like they belong, they learn better and are more likely to succeed.”


—Craig Mekow


SPRING 2026 Faculty spotlight


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