Thomas F. Bergmann, DC

March 29, 1947 - October 1, 2024

The Story of UCERF 

On January 17, 1989, Drs. Thomas F. Bergmann and Joseph S. Ferezy, who had left their faculty positions at Northwestern College of Chiropractic (NWCC) under protest, joined to establish the non-profit Minnesota corporation, the University Chiropractic Education and Research Foundation (UCERF).

The mission was simple but uncompromising: to provide chiropractic education rooted in the principle: “Using Facts, Evidence, and Experience to Enhance Chiropractic Care” free from commercial influence.  That resolve lead to the production of the Minnesota Annual Chiropractic License Renewal Seminar. UCERF Seminars were never tied to sponsors.  No marketing dollars, no sponsorships, no vendor-paid speakers. Therefore, no industry influence. Every seminar was original and created for doctors — not for selling some product or service. 

Following an administrative change at NWCC, Drs. Bergmann and Ferezy partnered with the college, and for the next quarter of a century, UCERF produced the Annual Chiropractic License Renewal Seminar, hosted on campus at NWCC, which later became Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU). This seminar series, the Annual Chiropractic License Renewal Seminar, became a respected tradition to thousands of chiropractors in the surrounding five state area. 

But times have changed.

Today, NWHSU has drifted far from its chiropractic foundation. What was once a great chiropractic college has transformed into something else entirely — a blended institution emphasizing massage therapy, acupuncture, and medical school preparation. The identity and heritage of chiropractic at Northwestern have been diluted, if not erased altogether. For example, NWHSU’s published policies indicate that they impose additional vaccine requirements — such as Hepatitis B, annual influenza vaccination, and TB screening — that are not mandated by state law.  More than some medical schools. 

These are institutional choices, not state directives, largely designed to align NWHSU with medical and hospital-based training standards rather than its original chiropractic identity.  Even the visible reminders of our legacy are disappearing — the busts of Dr. John Wolfe and Dr. J. LaMoine DeRusha, once proudly displayed at the main entrance, have been removed or relocated. The message is clear: chiropractic history no longer fits the institution’s new direction.

In 2015, Dr. Bergmann retired, and Dr. Ferezy carried the tradition forward, continuing to provide high-quality, non-sponsored continuing education. UCERF was formally dissolved in 2024, with its work transitioned to ChiroClasses, LLC.

In 2025, the latest administration at NWHSU chose to discontinue its relationship with Dr. Ferezy, ChiroClasses, and UCERF, the seminar that had served this profession faithfully for over three decades.

But make no mistake — the Minnesota Annual Chiropractic License Renewal Seminar will continue.
It will continue live and in-person, and it will continue online as an On-Demand program — accessible to every doctor who values integrity, evidence, and professionalism in their continuing education.

To my chiropractic colleagues, I ask only this: Support the organizations that support chiropractic. Support education that honors our history, our science, and our profession — not institutions that have abandoned them.