William Parker received his B.A. degree in 1963 from Allegheny College where he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, and his M.S. and Ph.D degrees in physics from the University of Pennsylvania. Parker’s employment at UCI began in 1967 when he was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy. He was promoted to Professor of Physics & Astronomy in 1976. In that same year he began administrative service when he was appointed half time as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Plans and Programs. His service to the campus continued as Associate Executive Vice Chancellor, under several Executive Vice Chancellors, from 1984 through 2000. He was instrumental in creating the Irvine Campus Housing Authority (ICHA) that is responsible for building the faculty and staff housing community known as University Hills. He served as president of the ICHA from 1983 to 1990. Professor Parker served as the vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies from 2000 to 2006 and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 2007 to 2012. Parker’s research primarily focuses on the electronic properties of metals, particularly superconductors. He conducted elegant and precise low-temperature laboratory experiments designed to increase our knowledge of the fundamental physical constants. For this research, he received the John Price Wetherill Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1975. His research, teaching and university service have earned him many campus honors and awards. Included among them are the Lauds and Laurels University Service Award, the Lauds and Laurels Extraordinarious Award, the School of Physical Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award (twice), the Academic Senate Daniel G. Aldrich Jr. Distinguished University Service, and the UCI Medal. Parker married his wife Janice in 1964. They have three grown sons and three grandchildren.