Dr. Charles Parker served as Director of Theatre of Friends University from 1989 until his retirement in 2016. For over forty years he taught college theatre courses, directed university and community theatre productions as well as conducted workshops at conferences on playwriting, acting, and voice/speech training. A graduate of Newton High School, Parker went on to earn a B.A. in Speech Communication (Harding University), M.A. in New Testament (Harding School of Theology), MA in Theatre Arts (University of Memphis) and PhD in Speech/Theatre (SIU-Carbondale). In 2008, Parker received the local Mary Jane Teall “Educator of the Year” Award and was later inducted into the MJTeall Awards Hall of Fame. Parker has acted professionally, including over fifty roles with Music Theatre of Wichita. In addition, he provided voiceovers and narration for local businesses and industry including video-narration for Friends University when the design and completion of Green Hall was honored by the Wichita Chamber of Commerce. Parker remembers his time at Friends as kindly marked by a friendly company of outstanding faculty. Blessed with four beautiful daughters and seven outstanding grandchildren, Parker is moreover humbly grateful for his chief encourager and spouse, Patricia Parker. He enjoys reflecting that God is inexhaustibly good.
Education:
B.A., Harding University; M.A. Harding School of Theology; M.A., University of Memphis; Ph.D., SIU-Carbondale