April 2001

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The Parker family displays a certificate recognizing the James Howard and Hallie McLean Parker Distinguished Professorship. Pictured are (left to right) Jim, David, Stewart, James, Hallie, Michael and Edith.

Parker creates million-dollar professorship

Gift honors parents' contributions to N.C. journalism

Photo by Dan Sears

The daughter of a respected North Carolina journalist is endowing a $1 million distinguished professorship in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

A major donation from Ms. Stewart Parker, combined with funds from the state’s program on professorships, will create the million-dollar James Howard and Hallie McLean Parker Distinguished Professorship.

"We’re delighted with Stewart’s generous donation," said Richard Cole, dean of the School. "This is a wonderful tribute to her parents, Jim and Hallie. They will be a permanent part of the School, and the professorship will be an ongoing tribute to their excellence."

Stewart Parker, born in Chatham County, is president and CEO of Targeted Genetics Corporation in Seattle, Wash. She is on the board of directors of the Biotechnology Industry Association and the Technology Alliance, and she is considered one of the top biotech executives in the nation. She holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Washington.

Parker said the role of journalists is much harder today, since financial and editorial considerations often compete.

"But I believe it’s possible to be successful in the newspaper business in its every aspect," she said, "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, to serve that important role in the community that keeps it honest, alive and thriving."

"It’s that spirit we are honoring and want to perpetuate with this professorship," she said.

Jim Parker said he and his wife were surprised and honored when they learned about the professorship.

"We were stunned, to tell you the truth," he said. "We were completely awed by it. It’s a great honor to see your name up there and know this will go on forever."

Jim Parker was born in Tarboro in 1924, and Hallie McLean was born the following year in Lenoir. Hallie went to Salem College, received a bachelor’s degree in history and immediately went to Chapel Hill to begin work on a master’s degree.

After high school, Jim went to work in the Newport News shipyard and then served in World War II. After the war, he entered UNC-CH and studied journalism.

The two met at the University in 1948. After graduation, Jim began working for the Chatham News in Siler City as news editor. In 1950, Jim and Hallie married.

In 1966, the Parkers moved to Clinton and bought the weekly Sampsonian newspaper, which later combined with the Sampson Independent and became a daily. It won many awards as a weekly and a daily.

"He always had an innate sense of the tremendous obligation and opportunity to serve as a moral beacon and as a mirror for the community," Stewart Parker said of her father. "He had to make some tough calls over the years, and he made some enemies."

"In a world where you can write an unflattering article about someone and meet him coming out of the post office the next day, you really have to live with those tough calls," she said. "It’s also true that when he retired, people said that he left a big hole in the community."

In 1978, Jim was president of the N.C. Press Association. Two years later, Roy Park, who owned many media properties across the country, bought the Sampson Independent, and Jim continued as editor and publisher. He retired in 1986 at age 62, and he and Hallie now divide their time between their home on Bailey’s Mountain in Yancey County and Chapel Hill, where they have a condo.

The Parkers have five children: Jim, Stewart, David, Michael and Edith. All five attended UNC-CH during their undergraduate or graduate studies.

"All of us went to Carolina and have a lot of love for it," Jim Parker said.

Zach Hoskins is assistant dean for communication.