Interview with President Yemeng Chen
President Chen Yemeng was the first president I interviewed at the beginning of 2024. Dr. Chen graduated from Shanghai and Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China. He has been president of the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine for 18 years. He previously worked for 6 years on the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in the United States and held positions such as secretary-general, vice chairman, and chairman. He is also the president of the American Chinese Medicine Association, vice chairman of the World Traditional Medicine Forum, executive committee member of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, and co-chairman of the Education Committee of the World Acupuncture Federation.
Zhang Zhenzhen: President Chen, greetings, and Happy New Year! It’s a great honor and pleasure to have the opportunity to interview you today. You have been interviewed multiple times and featured in different publications. Today, I’d like to ask you a few questions from different perspectives, hoping to benefit our readers.
Can you tell us about the background and reasons for the establishment of your college?
President Chen: The New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine was founded in 1996 by Dr. Zhou Qi in Long Island, New York. Dr. Zhou came to the United States in the early 1980s with an education background in Western medicine and Western studies. After arriving in the U.S., she taught at two acupuncture schools but was dissatisfied with the curriculum and teaching methods. Driven by the desire to establish an authentic Chinese medicine school, she mortgaged her clinic to fund the founding of the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I admire her courage as she started school at the age of 68, well beyond retirement. I came to the U.S. at the end of 1995 and was appointed as the dean and clinical director of the college. In the beginning, with only five students, limited funds, and few staff, I was involved in designing and teaching many courses, from basic theory to clinical practice, classical texts to modern research. I even handled tasks like answering phones, opening, and closing the school, and cleaning. Due to the limited exchange between Chinese and American TCM education at the time, the curriculum in American acupuncture schools differed significantly from that in mainland Chinese medicine schools. Dr. Zhou’s belief was to establish an authentic Chinese medicine school to bridge the gap with mainland Chinese education. Over the years, we have remained committed to imparting Chinese medicine knowledge genuinely and systematically. In 2006, Dr. Zhou retired due to health issues, and I took over as president.
Zhang Zhenzhen: What qualifications are required for the establishment of acupuncture schools in the United States?
President Chen: Schools need to apply to the state government, demonstrating sufficient funding to sustain operations for several years, a well-developed curriculum, and a qualified faculty. Once these requirements are met and the school has a physical presence, it can enroll students. While the requirements may seem modest, schools must undergo periodic inspections and accreditation by a third-party organization, the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). This organization is accountable to the U.S. Department of Education. Only with accreditation from this organization can the state government allow the school to continue operating, and students can apply for student loans. As a non-profit institution, schools take the ACAOM accreditation seriously, as failure could lead to severe consequences, including the revocation of the school’s license. The New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine has received the highest seven-year accreditation in its recent evaluations.
Zhang Zhenzhen: You mentioned that in the early days, the school faced financial challenges. How did this improve? Financial issues are a common problem for many schools, and some even struggle to pay teachers’ salaries. How is it at your school?
President Chen: About 90% of our funding comes from student tuition, with some additional revenue from clinical services. As president, one of my responsibilities is fundraising, although I admit it hasn’t been enough. The initial financial investment by Dr. Zhou when founding the school was a dedication to society. In the first few years, Dr. Zhou did not take a salary. Later, the president’s salary was approved by the school’s board of directors. When I took over as president, I actively visited libraries and churches in various communities, promoting Chinese medicine knowledge, our school, and clinic. The Jewish community in Long Island was particularly interested in Chinese medicine. I once gave a speech in a Jewish temple, and they even invited me to sing the U.S. national anthem with them. Despite some cultural confusion, the experience was enjoyable. Through collective efforts, we increased the number of students and patients, gradually improving our financial situation. When I assumed the presidency, we had a $200,000 deficit, but in the second year, we implemented cost-saving measures and generated a surplus of over $40,000. Since then, we have not incurred losses for over a decade. Currently, we have several million dollars in the bank. We have never faced a situation where teacher salaries were unpaid. Even with a surplus, our finances must be balanced and have a surplus throughout the year. The most significant expenses for the school are rent and staff salaries, and we even provide year-end bonuses. In recent years, student numbers have slightly decreased, a trend seen in acupuncture schools nationwide, and a challenge faced by universities across the U.S.
Zhang Zhenzhen: How many students rely on loans, and what are the prospects and living standards for graduates?
President Chen: About 50% of our students apply for government student loans. After graduation, some start their practices, while others work in other clinics or hospitals. Due to the opioid crisis in the U.S., causing a significant number of deaths comparable to those caused by illicit drugs, there is a collective call for non-pharmacological pain relief. The U.S. Joint Commission, a hospital accreditation organization, has added non-pharmacological pain relief services as a certification standard, with acupuncture being one of the options. Therefore, acupuncture has substantial potential for development in the U.S., and the demand for acupuncturists is increasing. Many employees in Wall Street and the IT industry in New York need acupuncture to relieve mental and physical stress. It is said that there is at least one acupuncture clinic on every street corner in Manhattan. Some of my students work in U.S. Veterans Affairs hospitals, and some have even opened acupuncture clinics in the Pentagon. Their lives should be quite good. In recent years, no graduate has said they cannot support themselves with their diploma.
Zhang Zhenzhen: Does your school admit international students and issue I-20 visas? What are the prerequisites for applying to your school? What degrees does your school offer, and is there a doctoral degree?
President Chen: We have some students from Taiwan, mainland China, and South Korea, and we issue international student visas. However, international students cannot apply for U.S. government student loans. The minimum requirement for students is to have completed 60 college credits, typically achievable by the second year of college, and they can apply without necessarily completing their bachelor’s degree. They also need to fulfill nine credits of biomedical courses, such as anatomy, physiology, and biology. If they lack prior biomedical credits, they can take additional courses at our school to meet the requirements for admission. This is a requirement for all students. International students also need to have English proficiency, with a TOEFL score of 61, an IELTS score of 6, or pass the Chinese College English Test (CET) Level 6. These foreign transcripts also need to be certified by a specialized agency.
Our college awards two types of degree certificates: Bachelor of Professional Studies/Master of Science in Acupuncture and Bachelor of Professional Studies/Master of Science in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology. We also plan to launch a doctoral program and will apply to the New York State Department of Education when adequately prepared.
Thank you, President Chen, for an enjoyable and informative conversation. I hope our discussion sparks interest in your college among more people. I will include the website of the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine here.
