Thomas A. Parham, vice chancellor of student affairs at UC Irvine, will become the next president of Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson.
Parham said he looks forward to becoming a “servant leader” at the university.
“There is no greater blessing in life, next to being a parent, than being entrusted with the intellectual and personal growth and development of students, and I enthusiastically support the CSUDH mission to provide a transformative education to a wonderfully diverse and intellectually engaged student population,” Parham said in a statement. “This is a time of growth and opportunity for the university and there are many exciting challenges that lay ahead.”
Parham will become the eighth permanent president of Cal State Dominguez Hills when he comes to the campus full time in late June. He succeeds Willie Hagan, who will retire at the end of the academic year.
Parham made $315,712 in wages and benefits in 2016 in his current post, a job he has held since 2011, according to Transparent California, a database that tracks the wages and benefits of government workers. While his salary as incoming Cal State Dominguez Hills president was not disclosed in a news release issued by the university announcing his appointment, Hagan earned $422,376 in 2016.
Parham grew up in Southern California and earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine, where his 30-year career included stints as the director of its counseling center and Career and Life Planning Center. He’s regarded as a good fit for a university that boasts one of the most ethnically diverse student populations in the nation.
Cal State Dominguez Hills has a student population that is 64.3 percent Latino, 13.4 percent black, 8.5 percent white and 10.2 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, according to its website
“Dr. Parham has an exceptional history of working with students from diverse backgrounds and has demonstrated unwavering commitment to student achievement,” said Cal State University Trustee Peter J. Taylor, chair of the search committee. “He is deeply connected to the area and is an exceptional choice to build on the foundation laid by Dr. Hagan and to advance the university to the next level.”
Parham is also the author of six books and is past president of the National Association of Black Psychologists.
Source: The Daily Breeze
