New faculty profile: Stephen Parker

This year, PVCC welcomes Stephen Parker as the new Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services. Parker describes his first month on the job as “a fast paced learning experience.” He has multiple areas of responsibility, including the Business Office, Security, Human Resources, and Buildings and Grounds. College finances are old hat to Vice President Parker, however, as he was previously Chief Financial Officer of Paul M. Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge.

Parker’s father was President of Southeastern Louisiana University, and growing up on campus amid the vibrant student life made a college career appealing.  Parker held the Chief Financial position for almost four years and had the opportunity to retire, but said, “I just felt a fire in me to do other things.”

Parker heard about the open position at PVCC and decided to look further into the school. When asked what had brought him to PVCC, he said, “The more research I did about the school, the more interesting it became to me, and the more impressed I was by the school’s accomplishments.” What sold Parker the most was “the buy-in from the community,” which was evident through the schools fundraising skills and off-campus sites.

 “Everything I heard was positive,” he said, “Piedmont really has an outstanding reputation.” Parker admires the wide variety of activities available in Charlottesville, including hiking, wineries and proximity to the beach.

When he is not hiking or enjoying his boat, Parker’s favorite place remains his work.  He enjoys “seeing students succeeding” and witnessing the fruits of his labor from interacting with students.  When asked about the opportunities to succeed further with PVCC, he said, “It’s a dynamic place to be, things are constantly changing and so that’s always going to present challenges and opportunities for improvement here…[and] you can always improve.”