VGCC’s New Leader Surprised By Own Path
By AL WHELESS, The Daily Dispatch Writer
Sooner or later, nearly everybody comes to his own fork in the road in life.
When George R. “Randy” Parker was a student at Lenoir Community College in Kinston in 1970, he never dreamed of becoming president of a community college.
It appears about to happen in Vance County.
The Vance-Granville Community College board of trustees last week chose Parker, 51, to be the college’s next president.
“I got my degree in drafting,” Parker said Monday during a telephone interview from his office at Lenoir Community College, where he is vice president for instruction and student services. “I wanted to do engineering-type work.”
After graduating with honors and an associate’s degree from Lenoir in 1972, Parker earned a bachelor’s in engineering technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a master’s in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University.
Parker worked in private industry for two manufacturing companies from 1976 through 1981. One was in Raleigh. The other was in South Carolina.
“I decided I wanted to go into business for myself in 1981 when I was 29,” Parker said. “I left South Carolina and moved to eastern North Carolina and started farming and doing engineering consulting work.”
He also went to Lenoir Community College to see about teaching night classes. “They hired me on the spot, full time.”
He was an instructor in engineering technology.
Parker worked at all three jobs for 10 years.
The farming operation involved raising row crops, swine and cattle on a 120-acre spread he owned. Parker also rented some land.
“I got the chance to move into administration at LCC in the early 1990s,” he said. “That was the fork in the road for me. That was when I sold the farm.”
His grandfather was “a big farmer,” said Parker, who was born in New Bern. His father was a Methodist minister. “I had uncles who had farms. I worked on them mostly during summers. My father’s churches were in rural communities or small towns.”
Asked whether he has a life philosophy, Parker said: “I’ve always wanted to help people to achieve more and to do better for themselves, to strive to be the best they can be.”
He has worked at the Lenoir college for a total of 26 years, full time.
Parker is projected to receive his Ed. D. in higher education community college leadership from N.C. State this fall.
Now Parker has been picked to succeed Robert Miller at VGCC. Miller will retire Sept. 1 after 35 years in North Carolina education. He has been president of the college since Feb. 1, 1999.
The selection of Parker will be forwarded to the North Carolina Community College System board for final approval, which is expected in July.
Of Vance-Granville Community College, Parker said: “I’ve been real impressed with the vision I see there of the leaders in the community. I think the Embassy project shows a lot of direction and vision for the community. I look forward to being part of that project.”
A lot of construction is already in development at Vance-Granville, Parker noted. “President Miller has done an outstanding job of looking to the future. It’s pretty much a done deal, as far as my input is concerned.”
He is looking forward to being involved in future projects, Parker added.
Describing himself as very excited about the chance to come to Vance-Granville, Parker called it “one of the flagship community colleges in the state. It will be a great opportunity to follow the legacy of leadership that has existed there.”
The writer can be reached at awheless@hendersondispatch.com .
Posted with permission of The Daily Dispatch
