January 14 , 2010
 Temple University Ambler enters 2010 at a time of great change as the nation, and the world, continues to struggle with a difficult economy and more and more adults seek to advance their futures or find new career opportunities by returning to the classroom.
At Ambler, a new leader will be charting the course for the campus as it seeks to provide the best possible experience for adult learners and traditional-aged students alike in the new decade.
Temple University Provost Lisa Staiano-Coico announced the appointment of William Parshall as Executive Director of both the Ambler and Temple University Center City (TUCC) campuses effective January 1. He will additionally continue to oversee Temple’s Office of Extension Services.
“I’m excited to be working with the provost, the deans and Ambler faculty and staff to build the programs for adult learning at the Ambler campus and make it a key hub for these initiatives, and I’m grateful to Dean (James W.) Hilty for the terrific groundwork he has already put in place to start building these initiatives,” said Parshall. “I’m looking forward to working with the dedicated staff at Temple University Ambler and Fort Washington to achieve our goals.”
Parshall succeeds Dr. Hilty, who led the campus since 2005, overseeing the opening of the Ambler Campus Learning Center, development of the campus’ successful Cultural Affairs Series, expanding the Ambler Arboretum, and laying the groundwork for Ambler’s adult learning initiatives. Dr. Hilty retired from his role as Ambler’s interim dean at the end of 2009, but will return to teaching in the History and Community and Regional Planning departments in 2011.
“There is an unmet need in the region to fill the aspirations of adults who want to return to school to complete their degree or begin one. Ambler has substantial potential for further growth — we were able to get a lot done but there is a lot left to be done,” said Dr. Hilty. “(Parshall) knows Temple and the administration and knows what needs to be done. He’s been on the ground floor of the adult initiative and has been instrumental in developing its mission and goals. He has all of the skills necessary to make this enterprise work and help Ambler become even better.”
According to Executive Director Parshall, there are a lot of synergies “that we can create at Ambler with TUCC and Extension Services that will give us a much bigger footprint in the adult market than any single campus could achieve individually.”
“Temple has always been a leader in educating adult students,” he said. “We currently have almost 4,000 undergraduates over the age of 25 seeking bachelor’s degrees.”
In order to meet the needs of a knowledge-based economy, the size of the workforce that needs to be college educated “must grow significantly,” Parshall said.
“I see Temple as being one of the leaders in this effort and I think that this will complement our growing reputation with the traditional-aged undergraduate population. Ambler has some very strong programs, from Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, and Community and Regional Planning in the School of Environmental Design to program in Business, Liberal Arts, and Education. The campus additionally offers a broad range of non-credit, professional licensure, and certificate programs,” he said. “I hope to build on Jim Hilty’s initiatives in the community and I also hope to make both Ambler and TUCC sites for academic innovation, such as hybrid online programs and programs offered through non-traditional delivery formats — one week intersession courses, for example.”
According to Provost Staiano-Coico, Parshall’s expanded leadership responsibilities “have exciting implications for both the future of the Ambler campus and Temple University.”
“As the leader of Ambler, as well as TUCC, Bill will oversee the operations of both campuses, and he will spearhead the University’s initiatives for adult learning, working with the schools and colleges to enable Temple to capitalize on the burgeoning educational market for adults,” she said.
Parshall has a distinguished record in leading TUCC since 2001. He helped to grow the number of students at TUCC from 2400 in 2001 to about 4000; and students at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, for retirees over age 55, from 500 in 2001 to a level that is on track to reach 800 students this year.
Prior to his arrival at Temple in 2001, Parshall was an Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Drexel University.
He received his B.A. in political science from Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls, New York, and a Masters of Public Affairs (M.P.A.) from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
After graduation, he served as legislative assistant to then United States Senator, now United States Vice President, Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
“I think my initial interest in political science stemmed from a visit by Biden to the high school of was attending in 1972 when he was running for the U.S. Senate,” Parshall said. “He was extremely charismatic. It was a time that you felt that you, as a young person, could really make a difference.”
In 1982 he moved to Philadelphia to become Director of Community Affairs at Hunt Manufacturing Co., an office products and art supply firm. In 1993, Mayor Edward G. Rendell appointed Parshall to coordinate the City of Philadelphia’s homeless and special needs housing programs.
“In the four years I was there, we were successful in increasing our federal and state funding from $51 to 77 million. We were able to provide 3,000 additional units of housing for adults and families and develop 10 employment and training programs for homeless adults,” he said. “We significantly strengthened Philadelphia’s homeless prevention programs and were able to help people stay in their homes.”
Parshall, a Montgomery County resident, serves on the board of The Business Center for Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. His past board memberships include the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation - Philadelphia Advisory Council.
For more information on William Parshall and Temple University Ambler, contact 267-468-8108 or visit www.ambler.temple.edu.
CONTACT: James Duffy, 267-468-8108, duffyj@temple.edu, release available by e-mail
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