Dr. J. Michael Parrish has been named interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at The City University of New York’s College of Staten Island, pending Board of Trustees approval of his appointment to the position on a non-interim basis.

Dr. Parrish has a career in higher education spanning 40 years. He began his academic career as a teaching assistant at the University of California Santa Cruz. During his graduate study at the University of Chicago, he served as a Research Assistant in the Department of Anatomy. Subsequently, he held research appointments at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and the University of Colorado Museum. Next, he served on the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Illinois
University, where he rose to Chair and received the appointment of Presidential Research Professor for outstanding scholarship.

From 2006 to 2018, Dr. Parrish held two academic leadership positions at San Jose State University, first as Dean of the College of Science and Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, and then Special Advisor to the Provost. During this time, he spearheaded a number of initiatives involving strategic planning, facilities planning and improvement, student success, faculty recruitment and workload, faculty and student research, program development, accreditation and assessment, and development.

Dr. Parrish holds a PhD in Anatomy from the University of Chicago, and BAs in Chemistry and Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. During his career, he has published myriad journal articles and book chapters on a wide range of paleontological issues.