Dr. Melanie Henriksen and university leaders shared key developments and planning updates with Board of Directors and campus community. 

Dr. Melanie Henriksen, president and CEO of the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM), led a town hall on February 28 to outline the school’s financial health, as well as program and accreditation updates.

As part of the virtual meeting, Henriksen and other leadership staff addressed key topics such as accreditation, program highlights, future partnerships to support affordable housing for students, budget updates and key financials.  

Reviewing past budgetary goals and 2025 projections, NUNM leaders noted that the institution had demonstrated increased cash and investment reserves over the last few years.

Key financial highlights included:

• Metrics over the last 3-year period, showing that NUNM has consistently met preferred goals for both DOE ratio and composite ratios
• Budget overview for current year, projecting a balanced budget
• Steady endowment growth over the last four years

In discussing accreditation, the team highlighted the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) who visited NUNM in October as part of its Fall 2024 Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness.

“They complimented our phenomenal commitment to being a community, coming together as a transparent group, and for being an organization that really leads by example and works to speak our truth,” Henriksen said during the town hall.  

Just a few days later on March 3, good news came with the formal NWCCU “Reaffirm Accreditation” letter received by NUNM leadership.  

Henriksen emphasized the NWCCU’s appreciation for NUNM’s administrative leaders and their dedication to collecting comprehensive data on both historical and current institutional performance. While they acknowledged the progress made, she said NUNM still had work to do in utilizing the data to continue to optimize program development. 

“They gave us kudos for a balanced budget throughout a difficult time in higher education,” she said. “They recognized that we’re doing really well, given our resources—so much so that they put it in writing as a ‘commendation’.”  

Henriksen highlighted NUNM’s leadership in the field of natural medicine and expressed her gratitude to the community for its dedication to upholding NUNM’s mission. 

“It is very clear our staff and faculty accomplish more than what most institutions do in twice the size,” she said. “They heard about our commitment to transparency and about building community and said it’s really clear that NUNM is unique in who we are and how we work together.”