In a Nov. 19 town hall meeting, students and faculty alike gathered to meet Matt Parlow, a candidate to replace Daniele Struppa as the president of Chapman.

A Southern California native and alumnus of both Loyola Marymount University and Yale University’s law school, Parlow has held several occupations, including speechwriting for the mayor of Los Angeles, practicing law at the firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and clerking for federal circuit judge Pamela Ann Rymer.

“She was a wonderful mentor of mine,” said Parlow of Rymer. “And though she passed more than a decade ago, I carry many of the lessons that she taught me with me to this very day.”

Parlow took time to highlight his academic career, including his 12 years at Chapman as a professor, executive vice president/chief advancement officer and dean of the Fowler School of Law from 2016 until 2021.

When discussing the future of Chapman, Parlow placed a heavy emphasis on the student population. A notable goal he outlined was to transform Chapman into a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), including achieving 25% Latinx student enrollment.

“It’s very consistent with our mission,” emphasized Parlow. “We want to attract the best and brightest students from all throughout Southern California and beyond.”

Parlow also spotlighted the importance of a strong financial position in the near future. While he expressed cautious optimism, he focused on the need to grow Chapman’s endowment in order to support scholarships and provide more resources to both students and staff.

It should be no surprise that the recent national elections somewhat overshadow the current discourse. When asked about how the university would handle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) going forward, Parlow made his position strongly known.

“We took the law school, and it became one of the most diverse law schools in the country,” said Parlow. “At the same time (we) had the strongest entering credentials in terms of LSAT and GPA of any of any law school class that we'd had up until that point, right? So when people attack DEI, maybe other universities are doing some things differently, I don't know. But what we do here is successful. It shows academic strength. It shows a sense of belonging in the Chapman family that all of us cherish.”

Many faculty expressed concerns about how the financial and mental well-being of staff would be handled going forward, with one attendee expressing, “We've gotten leaner in the past couple of years due to the budget difficulties for COVID-19. But at what point does that Chapman family… mentality start to get stretched thin?”

“We all need to listen and we all need to see and we all need to adapt and adjust while also making the needed adjustments to the budgetary realities we face, ” responded Parlow. “If not, we're going to need to then figure out with that new normal how we continue to move forward (and) achieve all the goals that we have, but do it in a way that doesn't overwork and overtax people.”

As for students, Parlow extensively discussed the importance of building both a wealth of grants and a wealth of advisory knowledge. 

“As you probably know, we support a lot of our own research institution, our research mission through our institutional budget. I'm committed to keeping that because we want to keep building up our research portfolio,” said Parlow. “The other thing I would say is, we want faculty coming here and working with our students who want to work with our students. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes energy”

Parlow struck a more emotional chord at the end of his presentation, delving into why education mattered to him, and how it would shape his mission as president.

“My wife and I have experienced the transformational effect of a college education and in our circumstances also. graduate and professional degrees. And the transformative effect it has on a family's circumstances,” said Parlow. “And it would be a privilege to be the next president of Chapman and work with all of you to help us continue to achieve those goals to deepen our mission and to provide those transformative educational opportunities for our students.”

As of now, the Presidential Search Committee has yet to make its choice.

Struppa will retire from the Chapman presidency on Sep. 1, 2025, at which point his successor will be inaugurated.