Oct. 7, 2008
HARRISBURG – Zoann Parker, former cooperative extension director at North Carolina State University, is the newest dean at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.
Parker will direct the HACC’s departments of Workforce and Economic Development (WED), Community Education and Public Safety Training.
“We are pleased to add Zoann to our college community,” said Nancy Rockey, HACC vice president of College and Community Development. “She is a strong, competent leader whose extensive background in workforce development and noncredit educational programming will be an asset to HACC’s mission to foster the educational, cultural, workforce development and economic growth in Central Pennsylvania.”
Parker, who hit the ground running when she came on board last month, said she is pleased that she was chosen by HACC for her leadership role.
“I firmly believe in the community affiliation that HACC has within the region,” said Parker, a former member of the faculty at Penn State University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College and former HACC adjunct faculty.
“We have the ability to touch every citizen’s life through one of our many programs, in either noncredit workforce development, community education or our for-credit classes,” said Parker, a resident of Quarryville in Lancaster County.
HACC provides workforce training and community education classes to more than 50,000 students in the region, in addition to serving close to 20,000 students in credit programs at the college’s five campuses in Harrisburg, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York and its online and blended programs through the Virtual Campus. HACC is the second largest provider of nurses in Pennsylvania and the state’s primary provider of public safety training. Eighty percent of HACC alumni live and work within 25 miles of their respective campuses, creating a highly skilled workforce in the central Pennsylvania region.
Parker most recently was CEO/president of Lancaster Investment in a Vibrant Community (LIVE), where she developed workforce training with Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
She previously was cooperative extension director at North Carolina State University where she administered all noncredit educational training programs in seven major areas, and earlier was deputy secretary of administration for the state Department of Agriculture where her responsibilities included directing a $120 million budget and $3 million grants projects.
Parker has written several publications and served on numerous boards and committees.
Her professional organizations include Pi Lambda Theta national training and development fraternity, Epsilon Sigma Phi honorary extension fraternity, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National 4-H Agents Association and National Agricultural Agents Association. Her awards include the 1,000 Points of Light National Award from President George H. Bush in 1994.
Parker has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education from Cornell University and master’s of education degree in training and development and Ph.D. in vocational industrial education from Penn State University.
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