The Cleveland Family
Legacy Award
The name’s synonymous with chiropractic care. The Cleveland family pioneered not only chiropractic medicine, but also chiropractic education, beginning with the 1922 founding of the Central Chiropractic College, now Cleveland Chiropractic College. And three generations—seven Clevelands—attended UMKC, including Cleveland College President Carl Cleveland III (B.S. ’70) and his wife, Elizabeth Cleveland (M.S.W. ’04), and their daughters Ashley Cleveland (M.A. ’98) and Alexandra Cleveland (M.S.W. ’04), and son, Carl Cleveland IV.
“I hold my role as a teacher and mentor as a sacred trust,” says Ashley, who serves as provost at Cleveland Chiropractic College. “My job is not merely to convey content, but to challenge students to learn how to be responsible for their own lifelong learning, for developing the skills that will allow them to continue to grow intellectually long after they have passed my courses.”
Cleveland family members also give back to the community through personal service and the Cleveland Chiropractic College. Elizabeth Cleveland serves as the executive director of the Cleveland College Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the college. The foundation has helped organize campus blood drives, community wellness seminars, health fairs and motorcycle rides to raise money for spina bifida. The Cleveland Chiropractic College also offers complimentary scoliosis checks for children, and chiropractic students provide care at the Kansas City Free Health Clinic and the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center. For their achievements and tradition of attending and supporting UMKC, the Cleveland family received the 2010 Legacy Award.