Dr. Parker is the director for AgrowKnowledge, the National Center for Agriscience and Technology Education, a project funded by the National Science Foundation. The former division director at the College of Southern Idaho, he worked in agriculture, information technology, drafting, and electronics, and taught computer, agriculture, and writing classes. He is the 2008 recipient of the NACTA (National American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) Distinguished Educator Award, and the 2010 recipient of the NACTA Murray Brown Leadership Award. Dr. Parker has authored several textbooks ("Plant & Soil Science", "Aquaculture Science" (Third Edition), "Introduction to Plant Science", "Introduction to Food Science", and others), and serves as Editor of the NACTA Journal. He earned his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, a Ph.D. in Reproductive Physiology from Iowa State University, and completed post-doctoral work at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and the University of Wyoming, Laramie.

Equine Science, third edition was designed to make teaching and learning easy. Based on a thorough, easy-to-follow outline that makes developing a lesson plan simple, each chapter starts with a list of learning objectives that helps the student identify the most important concepts in the chapter. Throughout the book, tables, charts, graphs and illustrations provide easy access to information without wading through excess detail, enabling students to quickly grasp the content. To help maintain interest, each chapter contains at least one sidebar to encourage retention of the information learned, and the discussion of new topics. In the Student Activities section at the end of each chapter, students and instructors will find opportunities for learning by applying the knowledge they have gained from the book. The Appendix contains helpful tables with information for converting units of measure, and for making contact with the industry and organizations as well as web addresses for equine industries and other useful Internet sites.