Dr. Dale Parnell (middle) speaking with Vincennes University president Phillip M. Summers and VU Vice President David Ford prior to VU's 185th commencement exercises, April 27, 1991. Dale Paul Parnell was educated at Willamette University (B.A., 1951) and at the University of Oregon (M.Ed., 1956, D.Ed., 1964). He was instrumental in founding Lane Community College, serving as the College's first president from 1965 to 1968. When he left in 1968, Governor Tom McCall appointed Parnell to the position of Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction. He was also Oregon's community college commissioner from 1991 to 1992. He served on the faculty for Oregon State University's School of Education from 1992 through 1996, where he helped establish the Western Center for Community College Development. Retiring from OSU in 1996, Parnell was named Professor Emeritus of Education. Parnell was a prolific writer; his many publications include the book The Neglected Majority, which was published in 1985.
