Mark Manton, CCMU’s CEO, announces his retirement from CCMU

May 25, 2024

Dear CCMU Community,
After 35 years as CEO and President of CCMU, Mark Manton announced his plans to retire on July 19th, 2024.
During his time at CCMU, Mark helped shepherd the fledging school through the 1990s with his long-time partners George Kitchie and Shi Cheng. Mark and George led CCMU through its initial ACAHM accreditation for the MSTCM degree in 2000 and the MAc degree in 2011. After George retired in 2018, Mark led the CCMU BOD, Administration, Academic Leadership Teams, and Department Faculty to add three doctorate degrees and a Research Department complete with an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Along with CCMU’s 35 years of educating and graduating excellent TCM practitioners, a recent crowning achievement is the addition of the DAOM advanced practice degree, the highest level of accredited EAM degree in the US. The DAOM degree resulted from Mark’s years of preparation for the doctorate programs and the outstanding efforts, knowledge, and skills provided by Songtao Zhou, Xiaochuan Pan, Nan Rui, Cao Yi, and Dayong Hou. Songtao Zhou deserves special recognition for bringing an excellent DAOM curriculum to CCMU and working to ensure the first graduating class met with great success. Joe Brady added his research expertise to help the research department create and teach evidence-based research courses, wrote the CCMU research handbook, and was instrumental in creating the IRB. Collaborating with such fine colleagues and practitioners has been an exceptional experience for Mark and the team.
Under Mark’s leadership, CCMU has grown from a single accredited degree (MSTCM) to five-degree programs (Mac, MAcCHM, DAc, DAcCHM, and DAOM). Mark is proud to have worked with all the outstanding Chinese Medicine professionals, administrators, practitioners, faculty, alums, and students who have contributed countless hours of work, study, teaching, and inspiration. Our love and dedication to Chinese Medicine and our care for each other and our patients form the backbone of CCMU.
Working with all of you who have participated in the CCMU vision has been an honor. Together, we brought it into being, and because of you, CCMU is evolving into a great Chinese Medicine University.
I leave CCMU in the skillful hands of Songtao Zhou, its next CEO. Tao has devoted himself to CCMU for many years and has been preparing to take the helm since 2020. His expertise with the DAOM and as the CCMU COO has been especially beneficial for CCMU. Tao will continue working with his outstanding CCMU Advisory Board, the dedicated CCMU administrative team, and CCMU’s accomplished and dedicated faculty. Together, they will carry CCMU and the profession into the future.
Thank you all for working with me on all CCMU has accomplished over the years. I wish you all the absolute best of success!

Sincerely,
Mark Manton, Dipl TCM, LAc