SPRINGFIELD — Drury University inducts its new president today.
Todd Parnell is the first Drury graduate to serve as its president in the school’s nearly 135-year history.
Parnell, 60, is also the first of 16 presidents without a doctorate to lead the liberal arts institution. He spent his professional life in banking, serving as president of Truman Bank in Clayton and later founding Springfield-based The Bank, which later merged with The Signature Bank, where Parnell was president and chief operations officer.
Parnell also teaches a course in entrepreneurship at Drury, which has about 4,100 students. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.