Robert (Rob) Parker has been named vice president for Advancement at Emory & Henry College. Parker brings more than 20 years of successful experience in higher education fundraising for the liberal arts and sciences, including 14 years in executive leadership roles at both private and public institutions.
“Emory & Henry has great momentum across every dimension,” said Parker. “I am excited to work with President Wells, the Board of Trustees, my colleagues at the College, and Emory and Henry alumni and friends to complete the Collective Connections campaign and secure the philanthropic resources that will sustain and increase this momentum.”
Parker has served as vice president for College Relations at Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., where he and his team had one of the two best fundraising years in that school’s history. Under Parker’s leadership as senior associate dean for development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s College of Arts and Sciences, he and his team raised $523 million. At Agnes Scott College, Parker planned the largest campaign in that school’s history and led his team in raising $85 million.
Parker earned a Doctor of Philosophy and Theology as well as a Master of Arts in Divinity from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Thanks to the support of the Board of Trustees, Wiley Jackson Hall is undergoing a tune-up this summer. All 314 windows and screens are being replaced; fresh paint is going on the walls; new plumbing is being installed; and a new elevator will eventually be added. The hall houses more than 200 students and offers double and single rooms. The complex features a lower outdoor patio, fire pit and sand volleyball court.
Members of the Emory & Henry College Board of Trustees and current students in the School of Business gathered at Carriger Hall to celebrate the naming of its new boardroom in honor of the 21st President, Jake B. Schrum. This was the first public preview of the building since renovations started in the fall of 2021. The building was used as a men’s dormitory and built in two phases in 1904 and 1908. A grand opening ceremony will be held in August 2023, when students return to campus and construction is completed. A feature in the new Jake B. Schrum Boardroom is a wooden boardroom table designed and handcrafted by Schrum’s oldest daughter and artist, Libby Schrum (second from right) of Camden, Maine.