Chapter 11, Part 3 – 1999

1999 got off to a promising start when the college was informed by the Health, Housing, Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority (HHECFA) of Oregon that it was granted authority to sell bonds. This authority provided the financial vehicle for the college to fund construction of the new lecture hall. The administration wasted no time completing the sequence of steps necessary to conclude the bonding transaction. The pathway was extraordinarily convoluted and involved numerous face-to-face meetings of the building committee, HHECFA, Educational Securities, Inc. (the funding agency), the Office of the Oregon State Treasurer, architects, WSCC Board of Trustees, the college financial officer and Dr. Dallas. Nevertheless, the journey was completed within the calendar year, a remarkable achievement given the complexities of bond authorization and sales. In early November 1999, the WSCC Board of Trustees signed for a $7.8 million loan agreement supported by the sale of bonds. The bonds sold in December and the actual funds were released to the institution immediately thereafter.

In 1999, the CCE announced its decision to increase requirements for admission to all chiropractic programs from two years of prerequisite college work to three. It was predicted that chiropractic colleges would suffer declines in enrollment as a result of this decision. The college had enjoyed an extended period of growth and financial stability, but it remained tuition dependent and a downturn in enrollment numbers did not bode well for the college’s future. The burden of indebtedness created by a $7.8 million loan would once again put the college in a precarious financial situation. To support the debt service, the college would have to unearth additional financial resources and make substantial cuts to an already bare-bones budget. The college began to immediately pare back where it felt it could.

One of the first sacrifices in this effort was the King Road clinic. The clinic had lost its osteopath and maintaining a relatively small chiropractic-training program was no longer affordable. The King Road clinic was closed, student-interns moved back to the campus clinic and the King Road building was sold.

March 1999 Commencement Exercise Program.
August 1999 Commencement Exercise Program.
September 1999 Commencement Exercise Program.
December 1999 Commencement Exercise Program.