Parker Kennedy joins Chapman University Fowler School of Law Board of Advisors

ORANGE, California – Chapman University Fowler School of Law has added prominent Orange County businessman Parker Kennedy to its Board of Advisors. Kennedy is the current chairman and former CEO of The First American Corporation, a FORTUNE 500® company with revenues exceeding $8 billion. In June of 2010, the title insurance and data divisions were separated into two companies. The insurance division retained the name First American (NYSE: FAF) and the data division is known as CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX). After the split, Kennedy initially served as executive chairman of each company before focusing his efforts as chairman of First American.

“We couldn’t be more pleased that Park Kennedy will join our Board,” said Tom Campbell, Dean of the Fowler School of Law. “Park is universally respected in our community, and his family has long supported Chapman University. Indeed, our building was named for his father, the late Donald Kennedy. Like his father, Park is generous, public spirited, experienced in business and law and a mentor to many.”

“It is a privilege to be asked by Dean Campbell to serve on Chapman University Fowler School of Law Board of Advisors,” said Kennedy. “I am impressed by the Law School’s outreach to the business community in Southern California and look forward to contributing to the continued growth of the school and its emphasis on business law.”

In 2003, Kennedy was recognized as one of America’s top chief executives on Forbes Magazine’s prestigious list of “Best-Performing Bosses.” Ranked at number five, Kennedy was one of only 10 executives from the nation’s 500 largest companies to receive an A+ efficiency grade for pay versus performance.

Kennedy is the former chairman of First Advantage Corp., a NASDAQ company ultimately sold to private equity, and has served on the board of Specific Media, an Irvine based privately held company. In addition to his achievements in the business world, Kennedy also serves on the boards of directors of various charitable organizations.

A member of the California Bar Association, Kennedy practiced law for four years with Levinson & Lieberman in Beverly Hills, California. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, where he was a three-year letterman in track and field, and a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. After graduating from USC in 1970 with a bachelor of arts degree in social science and communication with a concentration in economics, he went on to earn a law degree from Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, in 1973. Kennedy was born in Orange, California, where he now resides. He and his wife, Sherry, have two children and two grandchildren.

The Board of Advisors is a key group that provides advice to Tom Campbell, Dean and Donald P. Kennedy Chair in Law and Professor of Economics at Chapman University. With an emphasis on resource development and community outreach, the Board serves as a strategic partner in determining the law school’s priorities, programs and community partnerships. The Board meets four times a year to evaluate the changing needs of the law school and the legal profession in order to better serve students, professors, alumni and the community.

Having earned a Top Schools ranking in U.S. News and World Report, ABA accredited Chapman University Fowler School of Law is a forum where students receive real-world skills training. The school has emphasized a goal of making its students “practice-ready,” with emphasis programs in business law, real estate law, taxation, international law, mediation, and the entertainment (film, sports, and on line game) industry. Practice skills are emphasized at every level of coursework. In addition, students have multiple opportunities to learn practice skills through clinics, externships (including in corporate general counsels’ offices), competitions, and pro bono work. The law school is located in Orange County, California, and is known for its excellent faculty, skills-focus, and small classes.

Consistently ranked among the top universities in the West, Chapman University provides a uniquely personalized and interdisciplinary educational experience to highly qualified students. Our programs encourage innovation, creativity and collaboration, and focus on developing global citizen-leaders who are distinctively prepared to improve their community and their world. Visit www.chapman.edu.

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