PARKER KENNEDY
CHAIR, BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
WHO: Served as the chairman and chief executive of Fortune 500 company First American Corp. from 2003 to 2010, following his father. He also chaired First Advantage Corp., a Nasdaq company ultimately sold to private equity, and was president of the American Land Title Association.
WHY: Follows his father’s lead in being a major backer of Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in Orange. Practiced law for four years at Beverly Hills firm. Outside of Chapman, Kennedy serves on other various nonprofit boards such as the Bowers Museum and The Boy Scouts of America. He additionally has made contributions to Santa Ana-based nonprofit The Wooden Floor, a dance studio that helps underserved kids achieve a higher education.
IN THE NEWS: Announced $15M gift to Fowler School of Law in August 2023, of which $10M earmarked for student recruitment and scholarships.
NOTABLE: Helping to boost Fowler School’s student body quality and rankings.
IN THEIR WORDS: “That’s a big part of the rankings—what their test scores were, whether they get employment when they graduate, whether they pass the bar. We need to get the best students we can get.”
