VGCC president earns doctorate

Vance-Granville Community College President Randy Parker recently completed his doctorate from North Carolina State University. He received an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration with a focus on Community College Leadership in December. Dr. Parker’s research focused on how community leaders perceived the role of the community college and its president in the community. He focused on community leaders in six communities in three mid-Atlantic states.

A product of North Carolina’s community colleges, Dr. Parker started his higher education at Lenoir Community College in Kinston, where he would one day return to serve as an instructor and later as a vice president. In 1972, Dr. Parker earned an associate in applied science degree in Drafting & Design from LCC. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from N.C. State University.

Dr. Parker became president of VGCC in 2004. He lives in Henderson and has been active in community organizations, including the Henderson/Vance Economic Partnership; Franklin County Committee of 100; Chambers of Commerce in Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties; the Henderson Kiwanis Club; and the Oxford Rotary Club. On the state level, Dr. Parker has been a member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation Inc.