The Octagon at Life University enjoys the services of three permanent staff members, several consultants and a task-specific faculty who collectively address issues, problems, and needs flowing from the eight areas of inquiry adopted by the Board of Trustees of Life University.
The Director of The Octagon, Gerard W. Clum, D.C., (link to bio) was a member of the founding faculty of the institution, (then Life Chiropractic College) in January 1975. In January 1981, he accepted the position as president of Life Chiropractic College West in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2011, he retired from this position and rejoined the faculty of Life University. Shortly thereafter he was tapped to serve as the Director of The Octagon.
The Associate Director of The Octagon, Michael S. Karlin, Ph.D., was a successful businessman, entrepreneur and innovator in banking and technology who subsequently completed his Ph.D. at Emory University. Dr. Karlin joined the faculty of Life University in 2014 and soon thereafter was asked to serve as the Associate Director of The Octagon.
The leader of the administrative support unit of The Octagon is Ms. Avital Abraham. Ms. Abraham is a graduate of the University of Georgia who joined The Octagon in 20__
| Telephone | Postal address | ||
| Gerard W. Clum, D.C. | gerard.clum@life.edu | 510.512.8840 | 1269 Barclay Circle, Marietta, GA 30060 |
| Michael Karlin, Ph.D. | michael.karlin@life.edu | 404.234.9290 | 1269 Barclay Circle, Marietta, GA 30060 |
| Avital Abraham | avital.abraham@life.edu | 1269 Barclay Circle, Marietta, GA 30060 |
The Octagon enjoys consultancy relationships with a range of persons. Most notably among them are Brendan Ozawa-de Silva, Ph.D. of Emory University. Dr. Ozawa-de Silva was formerly a member of the graduate school faculty of Life University and played a central role in the development and growth of The Octagon during his Life University tenure. In addition, Tom Flores, Ph.D. and Thomas Fabisiak, Ph.D., members of the undergraduate faculty of Life University, also provide assistance and support to The Octagon.
Among the approximately 100 faculty who have been a part of the annual conferences of The Octagon have been Clem Bezold, Ph.D., Founder and President of the Institute for Alternative Futures, Raymond Damadian, M.D., Founder and President of Fonar Corporation, a radiologist and Nobel Prize nominee for the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for health-related applications, Monica Greco, Ph.D. Goldsmiths, University of London, Reader in the Sociology Department with expertise in Social Theory, Philosophy of Science and the role of vitalism in health processes, Heidi Haavik, D.C. Ph.D., Founder and Director of the Centre for Chiropractic Research at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic, Jeff Dunn, Founder and President of ____ and ____ of Campbell’s Fresh after it acquired ____, Tony Simons, Ph.D., professor, Cornell University, 3 or 4 more…..
