Four new plaques have recently been added to the Poet Laureates wall honoring a group of the College’s most ardent supporters. The new Laureates include Richard I. Gilchrist ’68 and Nina (Newsom) Gilchrist ’69, James R. and Jennifer Parks, Kenneth J. ’65 and Verena M. Florence, and the Yao Yuan Sze Foundation.
These new Poet Laureates join an extraordinary group of alumni, parents, friends, foundations, and other organizations that have completed charitable commitments totaling at least $1,000,000 to Whittier College. This honor recognizes the transformational nature of philanthropy on the Whittier campus and its role in maintaining the College’s unique position in higher education.
Rick Gilchrist is senior advisor at The Irvine Company and previously served as president of Irvine’s Investment Properties Group (IPG) from 2006 to 2011. He has served as a Whittier Trustee since 1996 and is a member of the Orthogonian Society. Nina Gilchrist earned a B.A. in political science and a master’s in education from Whittier. She is a member of the Metaphonian Society.
James Parks is executive director of CBIZ MHM, LLC, a financial services company that includes accounting and tax services. Parks has served on the College’s Board of Trustees since 2007 and honored his late wife by naming the first floor lobby of the Science & Learning Center, the Jennifer Parks Lobby.
Before his death in 2013, Yao Yuan Sze—a successful businessman, aerospace engineer, and philanthropist—came to appreciate Whittier and its positive impact on students. He wished to support the College’s work in providing transformative education in the areas of health and science.
Read more about Ken and Verena Florence.