The National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

naturopathic Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of pseudoscientific practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturop ...

medicine and

Classical Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

located in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The school has approximately 553 students.

History

The National University of Natural Medicine is the oldest programmatically accredited naturopathic medical school in North America. NUNM began in the early 1950s, in response to the termination of the naturopathic program at

Western States Chiropractic College University of Western States is a private health science-focused university in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1904, UWS is the second oldest chiropractic university in the world. The university has just under 1,000 students enrolled in both online a ...

. Members of the profession from

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

planned the founding of the school and in May 1956, Charles Stone, W. Martin Bleything and Frank Spaulding executed the

Articles of Incorporation Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

of the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in

. NCNM opened other satellite campus locations in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. NCNM's board of trustees and college administration (including John Bastyr, Joe Boucher, Robert Fleming, Gerald Farnsworth, Joe Pizzorno and Bruce Canvasser) decided to unify all of its campus locations in Portland. The first physical location owned by the college was the Market Street campus in southeast Portland. National College of Naturopathic Medicine (Portland, Oregon)

National College of Naturopathic Medicine (Portland, Oregon)

By 1995, the college began negotiations to purchase its current location in downtown Portland. Classes were relocated to this campus in September 1996 and clinical education was housed in two clinics (

Natural Health Center The National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) is a private university of naturopathic medicine and Classical Chinese medicine located in Portland, Oregon. The school has approximately 553 students. History The National University of Nat ...

and the Pettygrove Clinic). The historic building that has served as NCNM's main campus since 1996 was built in 1912 as an elementary school named School (in honor of former mayor

Josiah Failing Josiah Failing (July 9, 1806 – August 14, 1877) was a businessman and the fourth mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States. Born in New York, he moved to Portland when it was still a small town of a few hundred. He and his son Henry, who also b ...

) and from 1961 until the 1990s was a

Portland Community College Portland Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest post-secondary institution in the state and serves residents in the five-county area of Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Colu ...

campus. In 2009, these clinics were consolidated into one location on campus, the NCNM Clinic. In July 2006, NCNM changed its name to the National College of Natural Medicine. In June 2016, the school changed its name to the National University of Natural Medicine.

Academics

NUNM has four colleges/schools: College of Naturopathic Medicine, College of Classical Chinese Medicine, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Undergraduate and Part-Time Studies. It offers eight professional graduate degree programs: Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND), Doctor of Science in Oriental Medicine (DSOM), Master of Science in

Integrative Medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alte ...

Research (MSiMR), Master of Science in Oriental Medicine (MSOM), Master of Science in Nutrition, Master of Science in Global Health, Master of Science in Ayurveda, and Master of Science in Integrative Mental Health. Undergraduate programs include nutrition, integrative health sciences, and integrative therapeutics. These programs include preparation and clinical practice in

holism Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...

. The School of Graduate Studies offers a two-year Master of Science in Integrative Medicine Research (MSiMR), a program for students interested in complementary and

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

. The Master of Science in Oriental Medicine (MSOM) program is a four-year program in the classical foundations of Chinese medicine. Students receive training in

herbalism Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern reme ...

, acupuncture,

moxibustion Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' wikt:moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, ...

, Asian bodywork,

qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

and nutrition. The Master of Acupuncture (MAc) is a three-year program focusing on classical acupuncture and moxibustion, and providing a shorter course of study, with less theory and herbal instruction. NUNM is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges and is accredited by the

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. ...

, the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education and the

Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM) is a specialized accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education. ACAHM is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, incorporated in the District o ...

The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

reports that naturopathic medicine program had an acceptance rate of 82% with an average undergraduate GPA of 3.38.

NUNM Clinic

The NUNM Health Center is a

teaching clinic A teaching clinic is an outpatient clinic that provides health care for ambulatory patients - as opposed to inpatients treated in a hospital. Teaching clinics traditionally are operated by educational facilities and provide free or low-cost servic ...

where licensed naturopathic doctors and acupuncturists work with and train students. It is owned and managed by the university. The health center features a medicinary, private offices, conference rooms and a state-licensed laboratory. The university also has several community clinics, in conjunction with other agencies and as a member of the Coalition of Community Clinics, which offers low-cost naturopathic care and acupuncture in the Portland metropolitan area. In 2013, the NUNM Community Clinics provided services to more than 40,000 patients.Portland Business Journal - Natural Medical School Expansion
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Campus

Josiah Failing School sign on west roof of NCNM Portland

NUNM's main building was constructed in 1912 as an elementary school in the Portland Public Schools system, named School, for former mayor

. It was a replacement for an 1883-built wooden school building with that name, located about two blocks away, which was torn down in 1922. The NUNM building was designed by

Whitehouse & Fouilhoux Morris Homans Whitehouse (March 21, 1878 – April 4, 1944) was an American architect whose work included the design of the Gus Solomon United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon. Biography Whitehouse was born in Portland, Oregon, on Mar ...

, the architectural firm of Morris H. Whitehouse and Jacques Fouilhoux. A distinctive feature is the

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

, instead of a traditional clock, adorning the south façade near the roof. School closed in spring 1959, and the building was used by Portland public schools for a vocational training program for graduates beginning in fall 1959. In 1961, this program was renamed

and the building was renamed the Adult Education Center. The building was extensively renovated in 1964 for expansion of PCC's vocational programs. In 1971, the building was sold to Portland Community College, and it was later renamed the Ross Island Center. In June 1996,

Bill Naito William Sumio Naito (September 16, 1925 – May 8, 1996) was an American businessman, civic leader and philanthropist in Portland, Oregon, U.S. He was an enthusiastic advocate for investment in downtown Portland, both private and public, an ...

's company, H. Naito Corporation, purchased the building, with tentative plans to convert it into

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s. Bill Naito said that part of his motivation was to save the historic structure. Naito died suddenly in May 1996, and the plans to convert the building were dropped. A few months later, in September 1996, the Naito Corp. sold the building to the National College of Naturopathic Medicine.

Criticism

Research conducted at NCNM has been called a misuse of research funds, as 2.4 million dollars from 2005 to 2012 were granted by the

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is a United States government agency which explores complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It was initially created in 1991 as the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), ...

(NCCIH) and used to support unproven therapies. The naturopathic curriculum has been criticized for teaching pseudoscience and

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, ...

, as courses in homeopathy, herbalism, acupuncture, and other alternative treatments without a solid evidence basis are taught as " primary care medicine".

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1956 establishments in Oregon Chinese-American culture in Portland, Oregon Educational institutions established in 1956 Healthcare in Portland, Oregon Naturopathic medical schools accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education Sundials Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges in Portland, Oregon South Portland, Portland, Oregon Alternative medicine organizations Private universities and colleges in Oregon