Jesse Parks Portrait in Front of Office

A photograph of Jesse Parks outside his office. Parks is smiling while looking forward. He is standing in front of a room labeled 212. Next to the office door reads two plaques that say Coordinator Graduate Studies in Physical Education and Jesse L. Parks.Jesse L. Parks was a physical education professor and coordinator of graduate studies at Springfield College. He was also an active member of the Civil Rights movement. Parks was born in Ohio and graduated from Oberlin College. After graduation, he served for three years in the army. Parks received the Danforth Teacher Grant in 1955-56, when he completed his graduate studies at the University of Michigan. In 1961, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. That September, he became an associate professor of physical education at Springfield College. During the summer of 1962, he led a group of students on a project with the Egyptian Government under the auspices of Operation Crossroads Africa. In 1972, Parks was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention. He was also vice president of the Springfield Community Council, founder of Parks Douglas Ross Culture center, a cooperator of Baystate Medical Center, and a member of the NAACP board of directors. Parks passed away on March 29, 1984