President’s Vision
A Message from the President
At Colorado Chinese Medicine University (CCMU), we believe that the true measure of excellence in Chinese medicine education is not popularity, scale, or short-term results, but clinical effectiveness—the capacity to support root-level resolution, long-term stability, and the restoration of internal regulation in real clinical practice.
This conviction shapes every aspect of our institution.
Chinese medicine has always been grounded in a profound understanding of regulation, balance, and systemic coherence. Yet in modern education and clinical environments, its depth is often reduced to techniques, protocols, or symptom-based applications. While such approaches may yield temporary relief, they do not fully reflect the intellectual and clinical rigor of the tradition.
At CCMU, we take a different path.
We define educational success by whether graduates are able to reason clinically, respond to complexity, and sustain therapeutic effectiveness over time. This commitment requires clarity of standards, coherence of medical methodology, and accountability to real clinical outcomes—not as guarantees, but as guiding principles for education and professional formation.
To support this vision, CCMU advances a Qi-based medicine system as the clinical framework through which diagnosis, treatment, and prevention are understood and practiced. In this context, Qi is not treated as an abstract concept, but as a functional expression of regulation that can be continuously assessed, reflected upon, and responded to in clinical care. Pulse-centered evaluation plays a central role in this process, allowing practitioners to observe internal change even when external symptoms fluctuate.
Our emphasis on Qi-based regulation is not theoretical preference—it is a practical necessity for achieving the kind of root-oriented, long-term effectiveness that defines our educational mission.
We also recognize that this level of clinical judgment cannot be fully cultivated within the constraints of standard master’s-level training alone. For this reason, CCMU has established doctoral-level education, anchored by the Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM), as a strategic extension of our core programs. The DAOM is not an academic escalation, but an institutional response to the demands of clinical complexity, chronic disease, and professional leadership.
Through doctoral-level training, clinicians develop the capacity to synthesize diagnosis over time, adapt treatment strategy responsively, and engage uncertainty with clarity rather than protocol dependence. In doing so, they embody the highest standards of the profession.
Research at CCMU serves this same purpose. We view scholarly inquiry not as an end in itself, but as a means to clarify clinical processes, reflect on outcomes, and strengthen educational quality. Research, education, and practice are therefore integrated—not hierarchically separated—within a shared commitment to clinical integrity.
Underlying all of this is a belief that strong institutions matter. Governance, faculty development, and operational coherence are not administrative concerns alone; they are the structures that allow educational values to endure beyond individuals and across generations of students.
CCMU’s strategic direction is articulated through five Strategic Pillars that together define who we are, how we teach, and how we contribute to the future of Chinese medicine education. These pillars are not rigid prescriptions, but a coherent framework—one that allows thoughtful adaptation while preserving clarity of purpose.
As President, my responsibility is not only to steward the university in the present, but to ensure that its educational standards remain meaningful, credible, and resilient in the decades to come. I believe deeply that Chinese medicine, when taught and practiced with rigor, humility, and accountability, has an enduring role to play in global healthcare.
It is my privilege to support an institution committed to that responsibility. Learn more about the strategic pillars that guide this vision.
Sincerely,
Songtao Zhou
President & CEO
Colorado Chinese Medicine University
