Virginia Parks PhD, CPA
Professor Emerita
Faculty Member 1972 - 2003 (retired)
Chair, Dept. of Accounting
Program Director, Masters of Science in Accounting
Vice President of Finance
Special Assistant to the Provost
Associate Vice President for Information Services
Education
PhD, Accounting, University of Houston
Personal Bio
Address by Dr. John Eshelman honoring Dr. Virginia L. Parks Spring 2004 At the commencement ceremonies, Dr. Virginia Parks will be honored with the rank of professor emeritus for her 32 years of excellent service as faculty member in the Department of Accounting. The rank speaks particularly to teaching excellence, and that is certainly an important part of her contribution to SU, but its only a part. Its a privilege to be the person to introduce her today, because she and I have often worked closely together, so I have seen first hand the differences she's made in her many roles. And, because she and I have been good friends through these three decades. Virginia came to Seattle University in 1972 as Assistant Professor of Accounting. Her rise was swift. She became chair of the Accounting Department in 1973, and in 1975 was appointed the first director of the Master of Science in Accounting program which she helped initiate. In 1976, things really began to happen. When Fr. Sullivan was appointed president early that year, it took him about three minutes to conclude that he did not have the right vice president for finance. So he created a vacancy. He asked Virginia Parks to assist in the interim, was impressed with her work, and shortly thereafter, asked her to take the position permanently. Vice President for Finance was not an enviable position at SU in 1976, because we were still digging out painfully from a very deep financial hole. Virginia was Fr. Sullivan's right-hand person in righting the university's financial ship in the first years of his presidency. After ten years as VP-Finance, in 1986, Virginia determined to go back to her first love, the classroom. Then, in 1993, the university agreed to acquire the School of Law from University of Puget Sound. Acquiring a law school is not like walking into a grocery store and buying a loaf of bread. It is a very complex transaction, involving two universities, faculty, staff, the Bar Association, the accrediting agencies, the federal government, and so on. As Special Assistant to the Provost, she took the lead in working out all the many, many details for a successful transition, and did it superbly. Then, back to the classroom and a stint as Associate Dean of the Albers School. Her next incarnation came in 1997 when she was appointed Associate Vice President for Information Services. IS made major progress under her leadership. In 2003, after stepping down from IS, she took on the challenge of Interim Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and that center is now launched and a permanent director hired. Few people in the university's history have made such important contributions in so many different areas. I don't know which of them she is most proud of, but I do know that her students from thirty years back still speak of her with affection and gratitude for the quality of the education she gave them. Please recognize Professor Emerita Virginia Parks.