USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Biographical Sketch

John R. Parker is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. John has over 20 years of experience as an IT professional.

As CTO, John leads the Dornsife Technology Services team, which oversees teaching, research and administrative IT support for over 2,500 USC Dornsife faculty, students and staff.  In 2004, John joined USC Dornsife as IT Director to build a formal and comprehensive IT support team. With a focus on customer service and an entrepreneurial approach to IT support, he has built a world-class department supporting help desk operations, research computing, distance learning, technology enhanced learning, application development, web development and infrastructure management.  In 2007, John received the inaugural USC Dornsife Staff Achievement Award.

John's management and technical specialties include team building, setting IT vision, leadership, cross-unit collaboration, project management, problem solving, technology innovation, web development, application development, distance learning, network and system design, and entertainment lighting systems.

Previously, John worked for 15 years in the entertainment industry as IT Director for Mole-Richardson Company, an 85 year-old Hollywood movie lighting company.  At Mole-Richardson John oversaw all aspects of IT support and implemented one of the first entertainment industry web sites in 1995.  Also, through collaborations with cinematographers, gaffers, grips and electricians, John produced the first entertainment industry intranet which enabled major studios to purchase equipment and supplies online in a customized environment.  In addition to IT support at Mole-Richardson, John envisioned, designed and programmed monitoring and control products that were used on movie sets.  These include a Linux-based light switching system controlled by an wireless handheld device and a wireless monitoring system to analyze, in real-time, voltage, current and frequency.

John has been programming computers and working with electronics since 1979. In 1980, John co-managed an early BBS using his (still functioning) Apple II, communicating and collaborating with fellow enthusiasts around the world.  Also, in 1980, drawing inspiration and parts from his Atari 2600 and Apple II, John prototyped an early, portable, digital music player. 

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Interests

Going to the beach with my family, record collecting, home audio, electric guitar, vintage video games and computers, movies.