June 26, Lombard, Ill. – National University of Health Sciences (NUHS)
President James F. Winterstein, DC, will retire from his position in 2013,
according to an announcement made at the 2012 Homecoming event. Chair of the
NUHS Board of Trustees, Mr. Tom Schonauer, made the announcement to alumni,
faculty and staff on behalf of the board on Saturday, June 23, after the
president’s annual “State of the University” address.
James F.
Winterstein has been president of National
University for 26 years,
and part of its faculty for more than 40 years. In that time, he has cultivated
National from a single purpose chiropractic college into a multi-program
university that serves as a model for the future of integrative health care
education. A champion of broad-scope
primary care practice for chiropractic physicians, he has raised academic and
curriculum standards for NUHS, which have in turn established precedents for
the profession. Under his leadership, NUHS has broken barriers in research,
accreditation, and scientific publications, and has forged new bridges between
professions — in the end, earning greater respect for the chiropractic
profession in mainstream health care.
“I had
let the board know that I wished to retire several years ago. It was my intent
that the board could then establish a smooth transition plan in the best
interests of the university,” says President Winterstein, who will be turning
70 next April. The board formed its transition committee in April 2011, and has
since voted to grant the title of President Emeritus to Dr. Winterstein upon
his retirement. He will continue to
serve as an employee of National
University’s new
president as long as his services are deemed necessary by his successor.
“Jim
Winterstein has done an excellent job,” says Mr. Tom Schonauer on behalf of the
NUHS Board of Trustees. “Overall, we believe the university has been very well
managed under him: It’s financially solid, it has talented people, there is
constant improvement and expansion of programs and facilities. If he weren’t in
a position to retire, we’d have loved to have him stay on.”
In
addition to his duties as President Emeritus, Dr. Winterstein and his wife
Cynthia plan to move their primary residence to their farm in southern Illinois. In addition to
tending a large garden and diving into his many hobbies, Dr. Winterstein hopes
to travel with his wife. “I’ve visited South Africa on several occasions,
helping our colleagues set up a chiropractic education program, and really
enjoyed the people and the country,” he says. “I’d like to visit again, as well
as do more motorcycle touring with my wife, as that is something we both
enjoy.”
Additionally,
Mr. Schonauer announced that the board has selected its candidate for the next
president of NUHS. Joseph Stiefel, DC, MS, (currently pursuing his Ed.D) will
assume the presidency in an official inaugural ceremony during NUHS’ homecoming
in June 2013. “The Board was well
pleased with the direction the university has taken under Dr. Winterstein. As a
consequence, we wanted to perpetuate this by choosing someone talented from
within the organization to fulfill that goal,” says Mr. Schonauer.
Dr.
Stiefel is currently dean of the College
of Professional Studies for National University’s
Florida
campus, and has served on the NUHS faculty and in its administration since
2004. “The president and the board of trustees have worked very hard on a plan
of transition that allows everything to continue as smoothly as possible for
all of the many interests of the university,” says Dr. Stiefel. “It’s an honor
to be asked to serve the institution, especially as an alumnus. It’s been a
pleasure and an honor to work with Dr. Winterstein. I’ve been in the fortunate
position of being able to work with and learn from someone who has been a
president for 26 years. That in itself is a rare occurrence. I look forward to
his continued involvement as President Emeritus as part of the long-term
transition process.”
Print this page
