Craig Parks was appointed Vice President for Health Sciences Academic Programs and Policy at Washington State University Health Sciences, effective September 1. He will continue to serve as the University’s Authorized Liaison Officer (ALO) in the President’s Office on 1, 2023, and part-time.

“Dr. Parks is an accomplished institutional leader with a focus on health sciences and growing academic programs,” said Darryl DeWold, vice president of WSU Health Sciences and president of WSU Spokane. “His expertise is critical to the success of our Health Sciences college accreditation process. I look forward to working with him.”

Parks arrived at WSU in 1993 as a visiting faculty member in the Department of Psychology and later received a permanent appointment. He joined the Office of the Chancellor in 2015 and has served as Vice Chancellor for System Innovation and Policy since 2019, supporting academic initiatives across the WSU system and overseeing federal and state academic policy. In his new role, Parks will not only support the development of academic programs, but will also be responsible for the accreditation process for colleges of nursing, medicine, pharmacy and pharmacy.

Parks holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urban Champaign and is a graduate of Michigan State University. Parks was an assistant professor at Siena College before he arrived at WSU. He has also served as a visiting fellow at Michigan State University and Purdue University.

Elizabeth Chilton, Chancellor and Executive Vice President of WSU and Chancellor of WSU Pullman, said: “His demonstrated leadership and commitment to the success of our college and campus exemplify our organizational mission of service to society.”