NEWS

Donald W. Johnson-Taylor will retire as Newberry Colleges executive director of Institutional Effectiveness on Friday, Aug. 1. Sid Parrish, Jr., currently associate director of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment and SACS associate accreditation liaison, will assume the role of executive director on Aug. 2.

Throughout my career, Ive been fortunate to work for organizations that placed great emphasis on succession planning, Johnson-Taylor said. Knowing that my retirement was approaching, Sid Parrish was identified as the logical successor for my position. Sid and I have worked closely throughout that time and I leave Newberry College absolutely confident that his experience, technical training, people skills and youthful energy will help take the College to even greater heights.

Johnson-Taylor joined Newberry College in 2006 as the associate vice president of Academic Affairs. He was named executive director of Institutional Effectiveness in 2008, where he oversaw strategic planning, accreditation and institutional technology initiatives.

Johnson-Taylor brought a wealth of experience to Newberry College gained from leadership positions held in the automotive and business intelligence consulting sectors. He was CEO of Volvo Penta of America, a company within the Fortune 500 Volvo Group. Prior to that he was a vice president Product Planning and Development for Volvo North America and director of Regulatory Affairs and Product Planning for SAAB Scania.

In true entrepreneurial fashion, Johnson-Taylor also was the founder and CEO of four multi-million dollar consulting firms specializing in data-driven market intelligence and analysis. He also has been active in his church and the community, serving on numerous boards of community and civic organizations.

Johnson-Taylor has a Ph.D. in Multi-Disciplinary Engineering and an MBA in Marketing, both from the University of Michigan, and bachelor of science degrees in Civil Engineering and Electrical Engineering, both from State University of New York.

Sid Parrish has 14 years of experience in higher education. He joined Newberry College in 2006 as assistant professor of Chemistry and was advanced to associate professor in 2008. In 2012 he took on the role of associate director of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment and SACSCOC associate accreditation liaison. He led a team that designed a student learning-focused assessment system from the ground up and led the Colleges transition to this powerful online database and reporting system.

Parrish also helped lead the 2012 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) reaffirmation effort. Prior to joining Newberry College, Parrish held faculty positions at North Carolina Wesleyan College in South Carolina and Midland Lutheran College in Nebraska.

Parrish earned both his Ph.D. and master of science degrees in Physical Chemistry from the University of Florida, and received his bachelor of science degree in Chemistry from Furman University.

I look forward to continuing our work of driving forward initiatives that will enhance the academic experience for students and improve the effectiveness and productivity of faculty and staff, Parrish said. The systems and tools that we have put in place and will build upon will allow the College to make strategic and data-driven decisions that will benefit the entire campus community.