Drury inaugurates new president

Parnell, the first Drury alumnus to serve as the university’s president, was selected by the Board of Trustees on Jan. 31 after serving more than seven months as the interim president following the resignation of John Sellars.

“Throughout our history we’ve been blessed with strong leadership,” board Chairman John Beuerlein said in a news release. “But once in a rare while, we’ve been treated to the leadership of someone who shares a vision for the place that inspires everyone to want to be a part of that vision … and Todd Parnell is that someone who inspires.”

Parnell, a 1969 Drury graduate, has served as a board member, as well as a member of the advisory board of the Breech School of Business and the first leader of the Edward Jones Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He was also president of Truman Bank in Clayton, founding CEO of The Bank, and president of The Signature Bank.