Northeast Marks Chiropractic Founder’s Day, Celebrates a Foundation for Growth
As the chiropractic profession marks 131 years on Chiropractic Founder’s Day, Sept. 18, Northeast College of Health Sciences is reflecting on 107 years of being a leader in chiropractic education and the flagship program that helped establish the foundation for the College it is today.
Northeast’s story began in 1919 as Columbia Institute of Chiropractic, founded in a Manhattan brownstone. From those beginnings, the College built a tradition of rigorous healthcare education centered on hands-on learning and evidence-informed care.
“Chiropractic education built the foundation of Northeast College and established the standards of excellence, leadership and professionalism that continue to guide us today,” said Dr. Michael Mestan, president of Northeast College. “As we grow to meet the evolving needs of healthcare, we carry those standards into every program we develop, preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals while remaining proud of the profession that started it all.”
Building on a Legacy of Chiropractic Education
The College’s footprint has evolved along with its academic offerings. In 1991, the College relocated to its more than 280-acre campus in Seneca Falls, in New York’s Finger Lakes region. In September 2024, Northeast returned chiropractic education to the New York metropolitan area when its Long Island Campus in Levittown welcomed the first students in a second location of the College’s Doctor of Chiropractic program.
Today, future chiropractors can pursue their D.C. education at either location, with the Seneca Falls Campus providing a traditional residential campus experience and the high-tech Long Island Campus offering greater accessibility for students in the New York City metropolitan area. Levittown also has deep roots in Northeast history as home to the College’s longest continually operating College-owned health center.
Building on generations of chiropractic education and a commitment to whole-person care, the College has expanded into nutrition, anatomy and physiology instruction, radiologic technology, diagnostic medical sonography, massage therapy and physician assistant studies, creating an environment 100% dedicated to healthcare.
Celebrating the Past, Building the Future
That growth is rooted in a profession with its own long history of progress in New York. The Chiropractic History of NY timeline, now displayed outside the Delavan Theater on Northeast’s Seneca Falls Campus, traces that evolution from the challenges of the pre-licensure era through advances that shaped the profession today.
Created by Northeast Professor Dr. Bill Lauretti and Executive Director of Accreditation Dr. Suellen Christopoulos-Nutting, the original installation was underwritten by Northeast alumnus Dr. John Rosa (D.C. ’92), a longtime chiropractic leader, former College board chairman and nationally recognized opioid crisis expert who has advised the White House and federal agencies.
More than a look back, the timeline reflects the generations who advanced the profession and the foundation they created for those who follow. On Chiropractic Founder’s Day, Northeast honors that legacy while continuing to prepare healthcare professionals with the leadership, excellence and professionalism that have defined the College for more than a century.
For more than a century, Northeast College of Health Sciences has been dedicated to training healthcare’s future leaders. At Northeast, health and wellness are our central focus, driving everything we do. The College’s graduate and undergraduate academic programs in areas such as chiropractic, nutrition, human anatomy instruction, sonography, radiographic technology and massage therapy are rooted in Northeast’s mission and commitment to academic excellence, leadership and professional best practices. From our 286-acre main campus in N.Y.’s Finger Lakes region and our state-of-the-art branch campus on Long Island to our renowned faculty of expert practitioners, Northeast College provides a transformative educational experience, 100% dedicated to health sciences.