History The University was founded by John Fitz Alan Howard, D.C., in 1906 in Davenport, Iowa, as the National School of Chiropractic. It moved to Chicago in 1908 to access a more rigorously scientific academic culture. National's first home was at 1732 W. Congress St., across from the Presbyterian Hospital, where it was chartered and incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois.
Enrollment increased, and National moved to larger quarters when it purchased a five-story stone and brick building at 20 N. Ashland Blvd. Its name was then legally changed to The National College of Chiropractic. The Chicago General Health Service clinic was established in 1927 in connection with the College. In 1963, The National College of Chiropractic moved to 20 acres of farmland in suburban Lombard, Illinois, where it was later discovered this had once been the site of the sanitarium of Dr. George E. Boffenmeyer. Dr. Boffenmeyer espoused the principles of hydrotherapeutics, fasting and massage, uncannily close to the prechiropractic clinical interests of John Fitz Allan Howard. read more....

In 1999, National became the first, and remains the only, chiropractic college to require a baccalaureate degree for admission. National was also the first institution with a chiropractic program to develop and use a specialized training and assessment center and the first to install and use an MRI for patient and research purposes. National has long been a leader in chiropractic education and has been at the forefront in: Introducing laboratory procedures into the teaching of the basic sciences; Originating the clinical approach to diagnosis; Incorporating broad scope therapeutic measures into chiropractic education and practice; Developing and researching various aspects of chiropractic practice through application of the scientific method; Initiating increased standards for preprofessional education; Researching and teaching acpuncture/meridian therapy to its professional students; Promoting the value of and various uses for soft tissue therapy; Teaching botanical medicine to its professional students; Initiating and using problem-based learning as a cornerstone of its curriculum; Pioneering efforts in seeking accreditation and/or approvals of the institution and its various programs by state, regional and federal accrediting bodies or agencies.