A Life of Service 

Thomas Parham, president of California State University, Dominguez Hills, devotes himself to supporting others. 

Written by Nancy Sokoler Steiner | Photographed by Wendy Saade

In his volunteer and professional roles, Thomas Parham, PhD, considers himself a servant-leader. He takes inspiration from two American icons: Martin Luther King Jr. and Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman in Congress and first to seek presidential nomination.

King said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” Chisholm said, “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.”

A psychologist who has taught, published research and treated patients, Dr. Parham specializes in racial identity. He looks at the adaptations Black people make in developing their sense of self and the differences and variability among those individuals and adaptations.

Dr. Parham has engaged in numerous volunteer and service endeavors. He helped found the Orange County chapter of 100 Black Men of America—a mentoring organization dedicated to enhancing educational and economic opportunities for African Americans. ​During his nearly three decades with the organization, he developed Passport to the Future—an initiative to teach young men responsibility and guide them to confidently manage life challenges. “This is what I’m most proud of because the program has transformed hundreds of lives,” he says.

Dr. Parham served as president of The Association of Black Psychologists and has held leadership roles in the Association for Multicultural Counseling & Development. He feels satisfaction knowing he ultimately benefitted many people requiring psychological and counseling services by serving professionals who work with them.

As president of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), Dr. Parham sees one of his primary responsibilities as facilitating excellence—whether in teaching, research, outside learning opportunities or business operations. “I come to serve and not be served,” he says. “My job is to get out there and help others produce the excellence I expect.”

Dr. Parham came to CSUDH in 2018 following nearly four decades at UC Irvine, most recently as vice chancellor. He wants community members to have higher expectations of the university than they’ve held previously.

“I want to transform this campus into a national model urban university,” he says. “If you look at our curriculum, buildings, faculty, student access, cocurricular learning opportunities and connectedness to the community, we are not just in the community, we are of the community. That’s what model urban universities ought to be.”

He hopes students take several insights and qualities from their college experience. One is the understanding that good mental health comes from having a broad range of choices and options. Another is to maximize their intellectual and personal growth.

“The goal is not simply to get a job. The goal is the cultivation of the human spirit and the human potential,” Dr. Parham says. He also reminds CSUDH students, “People come from circumstance, but they are not their circumstance. You may come from poverty, but your spirit can still be rich. You may come from violent surroundings but still have a peaceful heart.”

The description Dr. Parham feels best encapsulates him came on an award presented to him by The Association of Black Psychologists in 2000. It simply reads, “Warrior Healer.”