Robert G. Templin, Jr.

Bob Templin has been the president of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) since 2002.  NOVA is Virginia’s largest institution of higher education and one of the nation’s largest community colleges. Located just outside of Washington, DC, NOVA enrolls more than 60,000 students annually at its six campuses. Over the last four years Templin has led an alliance of business, education, healthcare, technology, and community leaders in creating a comprehensive strategy to double the region’s output of registered nurses and allied health professionals by 2009.

Templin came to NOVA from the Morino Institute where he served as a senior fellow and helped in the development and launch of Venture Philanthropy Partners, a $35 million philanthropic fund targeting youth-serving organizations in low-income communities in the Washington metro area. Between 1994 and 1999, Templin served as the president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, an organization that enhances Virginia’s economic competitiveness through technology-based economic development. During Templin’s tenure, the Center was credited with helping to create or retain over 12,000 high-tech jobs, attracting or creating more than 225 technology-based companies, and increasing company sales or new capital investment by more than $500 million. From 1986-1994 Templin served as president of Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Virginia.

Over the past 20 years, Templin’s work in workforce training, education and economic development has been featured in such media as National Public Radio, USA Today and Fortune magazine. He was instrumental in the creation of the “Blueprint for Technology-Based Economic Growth in Virginia”, a strategic plan that outlines the steps that Virginia should take to guide the state’s emergence as a leading technology state. He has been named “Virginia Business Newsmaker of the Year” by Virginia Business magazine; one of the “Top 50 Influential Technology Leaders in the South” by Digital South magazine; and one of “Washington’s 150 Most Powerful People” by Washingtonian magazine.  In addition, Dr. Templin has been honored by receiving the Leadership in Technology Award by the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the Marta V. Wyatt Award from the Hispanic Committee of Virginia for his commitment to the state’s immigrant community, and the Northern Virginia Leadership Award for community partnerships by Leadership Fairfax.