Jeffrey T. Parsons is an American psychologist, researcher, and educator; he was a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Hunter College[1] and The Graduate Center[2] of the City University of New York (CUNY) and was the Director of Hunter College's Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training,[3] which he founded in 1996.
[5][6][7] In 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that he was required to pay a $375,000 settlement for engaging in fraud against the federal government for many years.
While there, he worked with Dr. Alexander Siegel on understanding the health risk behaviors of adolescents, with a primary focus on substance use.
He was a pioneer in understanding the etiology and consequences of sexual compulsivity (now often referred to as hypersexuality)[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] for GBMSM as well as having produced influential work on topics ranging from understanding intentional condomless sex (i.e., barebacking)[16][17][18][19][20][21] and methamphetamine use[22][23][24][25] to developing efficacious interventions to reduce substance use and HIV-related health risk behaviors.
Parsons was Founding Chair of the Faculty Steering Committee for the LGBT Social Science and Public Policy Center at Hunter College's Roosevelt House from 2008 to 2012.
[5] Following Parson's resignation, the Hunter College renamed CHEST into PRIDE, which stands for Promoting Resilience, Intersectionality, Diversity and Equity.
[7] Subsequently, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York settled a civil lawsuit against Dr. Parsons for using National Institute of Health grant funding for personal trips.