UC Irvine Names Parker Vice Chancellor, Dean

Longtime UC Irvine professor and administrator William Parker has been named vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies.

Parker, who joined the school as an assistant professor in the department of physics and astronomy in 1967, has been the associate executive vice chancellor since 1984 and has continued to teach physics part time. His appointment will be effective July 1.

In his new post, Parker will be responsible for overseeing research activities, including development of research policy, allocation of campus research and graduate fellowship funds, and management of contracts and grants development.

“I think the issues confronting research and graduate education are right in the center of the issues of whether UCI achieves its ambitions or not,” Parker said. “Those are the main issues that UCI has to address in the upcoming years, so it’s going to be a challenge.”

Parker’s many accolades during his career at UC Irvine include the Lauds and Laurels University Service Award in 1980; the Outstanding Teacher Award, School of Physical Sciences in 1979 and 1983; and the Lauds and Laurels Extraordinarius Award in 1989.

He also was instrumental in creating the Irvine Campus Housing Authority, which developed University Hills, a faculty and staff housing community.

The 58-year-old Irvine resident will replace Frederic Yui-Ming Wan, who has served as vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies since 1995. Wan will continue to work at UC Irvine as a full-time mathematics professor.