Northern Virginia Community College president to retire

Published September 9, 2014 by Jessica Sabbath

Robert. G. Templin Jr. plans to retire in February as president of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), the largest community college in Virginia.

Templin has led the school since 2002,  when it faced steep budget cuts during a weak economy. Rather than decreasing student enrollment, Templin turned to recruiting more students to help create new revenue. Enrollment at Virginia’s largest community college has grown by 18,000 students under his leadership. In addition, annual revenues have increased by $150 million.

After retirement, Templin will hold a part-time position at The Aspen Institute, an education and policy organization in Washington, as a senior fellow with the College Excellence Program. He also will hold a part-time teaching position at North Carolina State University.

“His retirement is well deserved, but the news of his retirement was tough for me to hear. You don’t replace a Bob Templin. The best you hope to do is to find a worthy successor. Bob is leaving us the legacy of a superior institution; we hope that this legacy will attract a world-class leader to succeed him,” NOVA Board Chairman Michael Wooten said in a statement.

Achievements under Templin’s leadership include,

• Becoming an Achieving the Dream Leader College, which guides a national effort to increase community college graduates who enter the labor force or transfer to a university.
• Increasing the number of graduates to more than 6,000 each year.
• Developing a “Pathway to Baccalaureate” program serving more than 10,000 high school students each year from 55 high schools and centers in low-income, minority and immigrant communities.
• Initiating Virginia’s first statewide community distance learning network, linking 22 community colleges and serving nearly 3,000 students annually.
• Opening three new centers and beginning major capital projects totaling 1 million square feet of classroom and laboratory space.

While he was president, Templin led the development of a national partnership between Goodwill Industries and the American Association of Community Colleges. The program has trained more than 17,000 low-income adults through Goodwill agencies and community colleges across the country.

Templin also is the founding board chairman of Achieving the Dream, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping more community college students, especially minority and low-income students, gain access to college and earn a postsecondary credential.

Before NOVA, Templin was president of Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology.

Templin earned an associate degree at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Md., before earning a bachelor’s degree at Towson University, a master’s at Georgetown University and a doctorate in education at North Carolina State University.