Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
DCCC president to receive award
Jerry Parker of Delaware County Community College to go into Chester County Business Hall of Fame
A longtime college administrator who worked to bring affordable tuition to thousands of area students will be recognized later this month by the Chester County Economic Development Council.
Jerry Parker, president of Delaware County Community College, will be inducted into the Chester County Business Hall of Fame at the council’s Business Achievement Award Dinner on March 30 at the Phoenixville Foundry.
“Obviously, I’m thrilled,” said Parker, 69, of Drexel Hill, who will retire in the spring after 40 years at the college, including the last 14 as president. “I have a very high regard for the Chester County Economic Development Council and for Gary Smith (the organization’s president and CEO). This is a high honor not just for me but for the college.”
Some of the previous inductees into the Chester County Business Hall of Fame are W. Thomas Musser, chairman of The Tri-M Group, inducted last year; Oscar Lasko of Lasko Products Inc.; Jack Loew of J. Loew & Associates Inc.; Tom Fillippo of Devault Foods; Greg Bentley of Bentley Systems; John Bogle of The Vanguard Group; Robert Hankin of Hankin Group; and Jerry Parsons of CTDI.
In naming Parker this year, the Development Council said: “Dr. Jerry Parker helped lead the charge to bring a community college to Chester County when none existed. Now the institution he leads has grown to serve more than 28,000 students each year in both Delaware and Chester counties, with nine locations that offer 33 associate degree, 17 transfer degree and 33 certificate programs.”
It was Parker, Smith said last week, who was able to overcome objections from officials in both counties with his consensus building skills to grow the Delaware County Community College in Chester County.
“Jerry Parker was the transformative figure that made this happen,” Smith said.
From its early roots that were put down in Exton in the early 1990s, Delaware County Community College now has six campuses in Chester County and conducts a number of training programs for county manufacturers.
The Downingtown Campus near Guthriesville is owned by the college. It became available, Smith recalled, when the Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School along Route 322 in Guthriesville ran into financial trouble and closed.
Developer Jack Loew, an earlier inductee into the Hall of Fame, bought the property, developed some with houses, and sold the rest at a discount for the college, which opened in 2000, Smith said.
“That was the key,” Smith said.
Today, the college’s other campuses are run in conjunction with education institutions or businesses such as the Chester County Intermediate Unit or Chester County Hospital. They include: • Brandywine Campus Technical College High School on Boot Road in Downingtown;
• Chester County Hospital nursing school in the 700 block of East Marshall Street in West Chester;
• The main Chester County Downingtown Campus, 100 Bond Drive in Downingtown;
• Exton Center in the Whiteland Business Park, Exton;
• Pennocks Bridge Campus Technical College High School
in West Grove;
• Phoenixville Campus Technical College High School near Phoenixville.
In addition, the college works with companies like Aerzen, Acero Precision and Flowers Foods, maker of Tastykakes to train workers, particularly in the manufacturing field. It also has developed programs with four-year universities in the area in which credits earned at Delaware County Community College are put toward a student’s graduation from those institutions.
“One thing I’m really proud of, we were instrumental in creating a Manufacturing Alliance” that helps area manufacturers find or train qualified workers, particularly younger ones, Parker said. “It’s great to have your body of work recognized, particularly from a business-oriented organization like the development council.”
According to background information provided by the council, Parker attended Wesleyan University and landed his first job as one of the first recruiters of male students to Vassar College. Among his achievements was recruiting minority students from the Philadelphia area, an experience that would later fuel his interest in making a community college education accessible and affordable for all students.
Parker went on to attain his PhD in higher education administration from the University of Wisconsin, then took a position at Delaware County Community College, where he rose through the ranks to become vice president of community and corporate education and eventually president in 2003.
As for what he’s going to do in retirement, Parker said he enjoys woodworking and has a place in the mountains where he plans to spend more time.