Pacific Oaks College & Children's School Names Dr. Ezat Parnia as New President

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dorothy Farris, chair of the Board of Trustees, announces the appointment of Dr. Ezat Parnia as the new president of Pacific Oaks College & Children's School.

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An academic, educator, administrator, father, and husband, Dr. Parnia brings to Pacific Oaks more than 30 years of experience in higher education, first as a college professor at the University of Hartford and then as a dean and administrator at Cambridge College in Cambridge, Mass. More recently, Dr. Parnia served as provost and executive vice president at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass., and will be leaving a CEO post at Education Advisory Group, LLC this month for the Pacific Oaks presidency.

"The board spent more than six months on this search, with a national reach, to find a seasoned leader to position our college and children's school to thrive in a changing education landscape that is sure to evolve even more in the years ahead," said Farris, who also co-chaired the search committee. "We feel that we found that person in Dr. Parnia. He knows education. He understands that we have work to do in this region and country to be better, to be more responsive to the needs of learners, to help them prepare for a more connected and rapidly changing world."

Joining Farris on the 10-member search committee was Dr. Michael Horowitz, a Pacific Oaks trustee who served as the institution's interim president while the search was underway. He added, "Dr. Parnia also brings to us a compelling personal story, an individual who immigrated to our country because of our great colleges and universities and is a living testament of the transformative effect that education has on people's lives."

Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Parnia said, "I am delighted to join Pacific Oaks and to be a part of everything that it has stood for over the last 65 years. Education, from preschool to programs for adult learners, is the ultimate equalizer and the glue of our democracy. My niece attended Pacific Oaks College. I saw the impact the experience had on her life and look forward to seeing the influence and purpose of this special place shared with others."

As an administrator, Dr. Parnia comes to Pacific Oaks from the birthplace of higher education in the United States, Cambridge, Mass., where he was a key leader at one of the region's great success stories at Cambridge College, a nonprofit institution that saw its enrollment rise from 200 students when he arrived in 1989 to more than 9,000 when he left for Nichols College in 2007. As an educator, he has taught students for more than three decades in the classroom and online; and as a thought leader and academic, Dr. Parnia has presented and published on such topics as the cost of higher education, the adult learner, multiculturalism, and international affairs.

Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Dr. Parnia came to the United States in 1976. He earned an M.P.A. from the Barney School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Hartford in 1979. Motivated to find relief from the harsh winters of the Northeast, Dr. Parnia next moved 30 miles east of Pasadena to continue his graduate school work at what is today Claremont Graduate University. There he studied under iconic management scholar Peter Drucker, ultimately earning M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in government and business administration. Of Dr. Parnia, Dr. Drucker wrote, "Ezat is an excellent scholar, a conscientious and hardworking student and, above all, a first-rate teacher." A faculty position at the University of Hartford lured him back to New England where he remained for the next 28 years and started a family. His wife, Lisa Boucher, is an executive at Financial Engines, an independent investment advisory firm. His son, Max, is a junior in high school and his daughter, Yasmin, is in second grade and a world explorer. Dr. Parnia is fluent in Farsi and Turkish and enjoys spending time with his family, tennis, skiing, and international travel.

About Pacific Oaks College & Children's School
Pacific Oaks College & Children's School has played a crucial role in the development of early childhood education in the United States for more than half a century. Founded in 1959 by a small group of Quaker families, Pacific Oaks College is dedicated to the fundamental Quaker principles of inclusion, social justice, and the valuing of every human being. The College's faculty has developed innovative curriculum and tools that are widely used in early childhood and teacher training programs—both in the U.S. and throughout the world. Pacific Oaks is well-known for its leadership in a learning-through-play curriculum, and for the ground-breaking anti-bias curriculum that has been implemented in schools throughout the country and is often required reading in early childhood teacher training courses.

An accredited nonprofit institution, Pacific Oaks College offers bachelor's, master's, and certificate programs in early childhood education, human development, counseling, and teaching credentialing. It is a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU).

Founded in 1945, the Children's School is widely recognized today as one of the finest preschools in the nation.

In 2010, Pacific Oaks affiliated with TCS Education System, a nonprofit service organization that supports institutions each backed by a model of education that prepares socially responsible professionals in applied fields such as education, psychology, and law.

For more information, see www.pacificoaks.edu.

CONTACT: Matthew Nehmer
(312) 329-6672
[email protected]

SOURCE Pacific Oaks College and Children's School