Todd Parrish has been tapped to serve in a new role as Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Welch College, according to David Williford, Vice President for Institutional Advancement. In this role he will continue his work in major gifts acquisition and church relations but will begin working alongside David Williford, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, in the overall administration of fundraising and external relations at Welch.
Before assuming his current role in January of 2018, Parrish served as Senior Pastor of First Free Will Baptist Church, Washington, North Carolina. A North Carolina native who ministered in churches in North and South Carolina for 26 years, Parrish has served in a number of denominational roles, including Assistant Moderator of the North Carolina State Association of Free Will Baptists and Vice President of the Welch College Alumni Association.
“This is a great move for the college,” Williford said. “Todd is an invaluable member of the Institutional Advancement team. His efforts have resulted in remarkable success in fundraising and public relations. He loves Welch College and her mission, and he gives himself untiringly to advance the cause of Christian higher education among Free Will Baptists.”
Parrish was ordained under the ministry of Dr. Malcolm C. Fry. A 1989 Welch graduate, he obtained his M.A. in Mental Health Counseling from Webster University in 2010 and his M.A. in Theology and Ministry from Welch in 2018. He is nearing the completion of his doctorate in educational ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is writing his doctoral thesis on the advancement and fundraising function of Welch College.
Welch President Matt Pinson said, “I’m so excited to get Todd Parrish into this new role to assume more leadership for “friend-raising” and fundraising at Welch. When he came to the college, I knew he’d succeed in these two roles, and he has shown himself to be stellar at both. His love for Welch runs deep, and he’s known for his strong work ethic and can-do spirit. It’s a joy to see him taking a more expansive leadership role in Advancement.”
Parrish and his wife, Merinda, Welch’s Clinical Coordinator for Teacher Education, have two married daughters, Emily Vickery (Zach) and Ellen Stox (Kevin), both Welch graduates, and two grandchildren, Lucy and Jack.