Campus & Community

The investiture of Palm Beach State College President Ava L. Parker, J.D., will be held March 2, culminating weeklong activities that correspond with the opening of the fifth campus in Loxahatchee Groves and a new era in the College’s history.

The presidential investiture will be held at 4 p.m. in the Duncan Theatre on the Lake Worth campus, 4200 Congress Ave. It is free and open to the public, but attendees must RSVP at www.palmbeachstate.edu/NewVision.

College and university presidents from around the state and other dignitaries will be among the attendees for the academic ceremony formally inaugurating Parker as Palm Beach State’s fifth president. College leaders decided to tie the event to the opening of the Loxahatchee Groves campus and engage communities that the College serves.

“I am honored to lead Palm Beach State during this period of growth and new direction,’’ said Parker. “All of our employees, our students and our community are critical to the success of this institution and the direction which we are now headed. This week is a celebration of the positive impact this institution has on Palm Beach County.”
Other investiture week events include:

Saturday, Feb. 25

• A college-wide day student day of service at Feeding South Florida in Boynton Beach

Monday, Feb. 27

• A campus presidential celebration at 11 a.m. in the Meldon Lecture Hall at the Palm Beach Gardens campus
• An ice cream social from noon to 1 p.m. in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza; noon to 3 p.m. at the Campus Commons and 5 to 6 p.m. at the Center for Bachelor’s Programs on the Lake Worth campus

Tuesday, Feb. 28

• Grand opening and ribbon at the Loxahatchee Groves campus at 4 p.m.

Wednesday, March 1

• “Visionary Women of Today” panel discussion and continental breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Lecture Hall (Room 103) at the Humanities and Technology building on the Boca Raton campus. Panelists include Verdenia C. Baker, Palm Beach County administrator; Dr. Laurie George, president and CEO of the United Way of Palm Beach County; Kelly Smallridge; president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County and Dr. Lisa Williams-Taylor, CEO of the Children’s Services Council, Palm Beach County. Parker also will make remarks. Arlene Herson, cable TV producer/host of the Arlene Herson Show, will moderate the discussion.

Thursday, March 2

• Spirit Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the intramural fields at the Lake Worth campus

Parker became Palm Beach State’s first female chief July 1, 2015. During her first year, she immediately went to work on helping to secure $9 million from the state Legislature to complete the first building of the fifth campus and keep plans for the campus on track. The funds had been vetoed the year before her arrival.  She also led the College in signing a memorandum of understanding with Boca Raton-based Modernizing Medicine to create a training hub at the new campus.  Through the partnership, PBSC students training for health information technology careers will have access to the company’s groundbreaking technology to help prepare them for the workforce, and Modernizing Medicine will have access to some campus facilities to provide training for its customers.