The former chairman of the Illinois College Board of Trustees, community leader and celebrated donor to the College passed away on May 11, at the age of 89, having built a legacy that will live on in countless ways on the Hilltop.

Parker began his service with the Illinois College Board of Trustees in 1974 and served with distinction for 40 years, 20 of which he led as the Chair of the Board. Parker currently holds the distinction of being the College’s most outstanding benefactor.

Parker’s steady counsel and bold vision for Illinois College helped drive many initiatives at IC, including the Expectation and Fulfillment Campaign in the 90s. Parker served as co-chair with Jim Bruner ’66 to raise over $42 million, dramatically benefiting the College with the funds needed to construct the Bruner Fitness and Recreation Center and the Parker Science Building, which fellow trustees unanimously voted to name in his honor in 1999. Parker graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1949 and earned a master’s degree from Dartmouth and a law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army.

Parker’s distinguished career in financial services, began in 1950 when he joined Chicago’s Harris Trust & Savings Bank. He later served as executive vice president and director of the Chicago firm of Duff and Phelps Inc.

In 2000, Trustees raised $75,000 to establish the C. Reed Parker Faculty Development Fund to provide ongoing assistance to IC faculty members with professional studies and scholarly endeavors. In recognition of his extraordinary humanitarianism, the College conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in 2000.