Loyola names Rodney L. Parker, Ph.D., as chief equity and inclusion officer

Loyola University Maryland announced that Rodney L. Parker, Ph.D., has been selected as Loyola’s chief equity and inclusion officer, effective immediately.

Parker has served in the role on a temporary basis since being named acting chief equity and inclusion officer in July 2021 while the University was in a presidential search. When Dr. Parker joined the Loyola community in 2002, he served for two and a half years as an assistant director in what is now the Center for Community, Service, and Justice. In 2005, he assumed the role of director of ALANA Services, where he continued to lead the expansion of this office and role until July 2019 when he assumed the role of assistant dean of undergraduate and graduate studies.

“I look forward to collaborating with students and colleagues across the University in continuing to make progress in these areas,” Parker said. “As important as the office of equity and inclusion is to Loyola, however, we know that the work itself belongs to each one of us—to all of us. Students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and our Board of Trustees are working together to invest in this undertaking of fostering a more just, more inclusive community.”

Dr. Parker holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University, a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology from Duke University, and a Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling and a doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision from Loyola.

“Dr. Parker has led with skill, dedication, and a commitment to seeing through the implementation of the University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan,” said Terrence M. Sawyer, J.D., president of Loyola. “We are fortunate to have, in Dr. Parker, a leader who can continue the exceptional work started by Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, who was the inaugural chief equity and inclusion officer. This is critically important work for our Jesuit, Catholic institution, and we will continue to lean into it and strive to become a more inclusive community where everyone feels they belong.”

Moore-Thomas, who served as the University’s first chief equity and inclusion officer from January 2020 through June 2021, is the interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.