Mercy College In Dobbs Ferry Picks New President

DOBBS FERRY, NY — A new president has been elected to lead Mercy College.

Susan L. Parish was selected by the college’s Board of Trustees to become the 13th president of the Dobbs Ferry institution.

The selection of Parish followed a comprehensive search for someone to succeed President Timothy L. Hall, who announced he will retire June 30.

Parish will become president July 1, according to a college spokesperson.

Joe Gantz, chairman of the Mercy College Board of Trustees, said he is looking forward to working with Parish and is confident she will continue to build upon the college’s strong foundation.

“Dr. Parish’s passion for equity, access and inclusion is a hallmark of her professional career,” he said, “making her the right person to lead Mercy College.”

Parish is currently the dean of the College of Health Professions and Sentara professor of health administration at Virginia Commonwealth University.

During her tenure there, VCU experienced significant increases in graduate and undergraduate enrollment and research funding. The college also launched an innovative liberal arts undergrad degree in health services in 2020 and developed new certificate programs and graduate concentrations.

Before VCU, she served as dean of Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University.

Parish said she was honored and delighted for the opportunity to lead Mercy College.

“I am deeply committed to Mercy’s mission of delivering exceptional educational experiences that enable students to achieve their academic and career aspirations,” she said. “I look forward to working collaboratively with faculty and staff to achieve this important goal.”

Parish received a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and a master of social work from Rutgers University. She earned a doctorate in public health from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed a National Institutes of Health-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Over her career, Parish has done research primarily in the area of health disparities for people with disabilities and has garnered more than $13 million in external research funding. She has received multiple awards for teaching, mentoring and research.