Hennepin Technical College Names Jeffrey J. Parks as Provost

New academic leader brings a lifetime of personal & professional experience in career & technical education

(Brooklyn Park, Minn.) Hennepin Technical College is pleased to announce Jeffrey J. Parks as the next Provost for the college. Following a national search, Parks was chosen to serve as the college's Chief Academic and Student Affairs Officer, reporting to the college President, Dr. Merrill Irving, Jr. As Provost, Parks is charged with providing educational and administrative leadership to achieve student success, and continue the college’s leadership on diversity, equity and inclusion. Parks will also lead the vision and overall guidance for planning and continuous improvement in the largest career and technical education college in Minnesota.

He will begin his new role in June, following the retirement of current Provost, Dr. Carmen Coballes-Vega.

Parks is a strong advocate of career and technical education, having begun his education with an Associate’s degree in Automotive Mechanics from Northeast Technical Community College in Norfolk. He then built a career in leadership roles in technical education at 5 colleges in 3 states

Most recently, he has been a Dean at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas since 2011. He has provided strategic and administrative leadership to all instructional programs, including 26 technical programs serving more than 5,000 students. Under his leadership, student success has grown by 39% since fall of 2012 in his division and he supported San Jacinto College in receiving the 2017 Aspen Institute Rising Star award.

Previously he served in the roles of Associate Dean of Industry and Technologies, and Director of Industrial Trades Program at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. He had instructional and leadership roles in the Applied Automotive Technology and Alternative Fuels Training programs at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas. And he began his career in instruction and coordination roles at Mesalands Community College in Tucamcari, New Mexico, and at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska.

Parks has an Associate of Applied Science in Automotive Mechanics, Northeast Technical Community College (Norfolk, NE); a B.S. in Technology, Wayne State College (Wayne, NE); and an M.S. in Human Resource Development, University of Texas (Tyler, TX).

About Hennepin Technical College

Founded in 1972, Hennepin Technical College is the largest technical college in Minnesota. With campuses in Brooklyn Park and Eden Prairie, Hennepin Technical College has a diverse student population of more than 18,000 and offers degree and non-degree coursework in over 45 programs. Achieving a 99% job placement rate within its network of industry partners, Hennepin Technical College prepares students for in-demand and high-paying employment opportunities. For more information, visit HennepinTech.edu.

Hennepin Technical College is a member of Minnesota State, which includes 30 colleges and seven state universities serving approximately 400,000 students. It is the fourth-largest system of two-year colleges and four-year universities in the United States.