Education Innovator Ted Mitchell Joins Parchment Board of Directors

Parchment adds Mitchell, president and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, to board; Former Blackboard executive Rajeev Arora named VP of marketing

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (July 30, 2012) – Parchment Inc. announces the appointments of Dr. Ted Mitchell as a member of the board of directors and Rajeev Arora as vice president of marketing.

With extensive experience leading innovation in the K-12 and higher education sectors, Dr. Mitchell joins Parchment’s board during a time of accelerating growth for the Scottsdale-based education credentials data pioneer. He is the president and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, past president of Occidental College, and a widely recognized influential mind working to reshape the future of education. As a member of Parchment’s board of directors, Dr. Mitchell will use his more than 30 years of education experience to provide counsel and strategic insight for the market leader as it innovates the way education credentials work for institutions and individuals.

“Ted is an education visionary who has consistently been at the forefront of meaningful and lasting reform efforts,” said Parchment CEO Matthew Pittinsky, Ph.D. “His insights into education’s major trends and players make him a wonderful addition to our board of directors.”

Dr. Mitchell has served since 2005 as the president and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, a nonprofit venture philanthropy firm that supports both nonprofit and for-profit education entrepreneurs who are transforming education. From 2008 through 2010, Dr. Mitchell also served as president of the California State Board of Education. He has held several high-level positions at postsecondary institutions such as Occidental College, UCLA and Dartmouth College. Dr. Mitchell also has served on a number of policy commissions, including chairing the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence and the Commission on Teacher Effectiveness for the Los Angeles Unified School District. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Stanford University.

“Opportunities to join companies that have as much potential as Parchment has are rare, and I’m looking forward to adding my perspective to the company’s outlook,” said Dr. Mitchell. “Parchment’s growth is sustained and significant, and the executive team has the company well positioned to fundamentally change the way institutions and individuals unlock the value of credentials data.”

Arora joins Parchment as VP of marketing to lead all aspects of the company’s marketing and communications strategy. He’s responsible for developing and executing marketing plans that support business growth and enhance Parchment’s visibility as the leading education credentials data company. Arora comes to Parchment from Blackboard Collaborate, where he served as the vice president of marketing and strategy. At Elluminate (acquired by Blackboard Collaborate), Arora helped launch and grow the company to more than 160 employees, 1,500 customers and multi-million dollar revenues.

About Parchment
Parchment’s mission is to unleash education credentials by unlocking the critical data they embody. A credentials data company, Parchment works with institutions and corporations around the world helping people collect, promote, and share their education credentials in simple and secure ways. At Parchment.com, students can research colleges and discover their chances of admission, see how they compare with peers, get college recommendations, and send official transcripts when they are ready to apply. The company’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering, Docufide^® by Parchment™, is the leading transcript exchange and intelligence platform. The solution enables the secure, rapid exchange of millions of electronic transcripts and other student records among more than 9,000 schools and universities, six state education agencies, and hundreds of thousands of individuals. Founded in 2003, Parchment Inc. is a venture-backed company headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. Visit www.parchment.com/company for more information.

Media Contacts
• Mark Cohen, Parchment, Inc., 480-719-1646 x1009, mcohen@parchment.com

• Kristen Plemon, C. Blohm & Associates, 608-216-7300 x18, kristen@cblohm.com