Susan Parish stepped in on July 1 as Mercy College’s newest president.
Mercy College is New York’s largest, private, nonprofit Hispanic Serving Institution. The College boasts three campuses across New York City and the surrounding areas, one of which is in the Hutchinson Metro Center in Pelham Bay. The Bronx campus offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as certifications in fields such as business, information technology and social work.
Parish, who is the college’s 13th president, is coming to Mercy College from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where she was the dean of the College of Health Professions and the Sentara professor of Health Administration.
“I am humbled and awed to lead this inspiring community of students, faculty, staff and alumni,” Parish said in a July 3 introductory video.
Timothy Hall, Mercy College’s 12th president and Parish’s predecessor, passed the torch after nine years of service to the Mercy community. Hall announced his retirement from the position on April 22, 2022.
Hall’s presidency was marked by successful efforts to narrow the equity gap among students, ameliorate Mercy College’s financial standing and expand donor-funded scholarship programs. The end of his tenure was marked with increasing student enrollment — Mercy College is set to welcome its largest undergraduate class in more than a decade in the fall.
Following Hall’s announcement of his impending retirement, the Presidential Search Committee comprised of members of Mercy College’s Board of Trustees, faculty and staff embarked on an eight months-long “comprehensive and confidential search process with a highly qualified applicant pool,” Zodet Negron, a spokesperson for Mercy College, told the Bronx Times.
The College announced Parish as the new president back on Jan. 24.
“Dr. Parish’s passion for equity, access and inclusion is a hallmark of her professional career, making her the right person to lead Mercy College,” Chairman of the Board of Trustees Joe Gantz said.
Prior to working at VCU, Parish served as dean of Northeastern University’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences where she developed the U.S.’s first–ever Physician Assistant leadership program with the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Throughout her career, Parish’s award-winning research has focused on investigating the health and well-being of children and adults with disabilities and their caregiving families.
“It is a true privilege for me to be joining Mercy with its longstanding tradition of creating opportunity for motivated students who want to transform their lives through education,” Parish said in her introductory video. “I am passionate about Mercy’s mission, and I am energized by the work of the College’s community.”
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