Alvin J. Schexnider, Ph.D.
President, Thomas Nelson Community College

Alvin J. Schexnider, Ph.D., is President of Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Virginia. Before retiring in April 2007, he was Executive Vice President of Norfolk State University where he also served as Acting President and Interim President.  A former Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, he has held faculty and administrative positions at Southern University, Syracuse University, The Federal Executive Institute, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Virginia Commonwealth University and Wake Forest University.    
 
Dr. Schexnider earned a B.A. degree in political science at Grambling State University.  He received the M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University where he held Norman Wait Harris, Ford Foundation and Woodrow Wilson fellowships.  
 
He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the J. Sergeant Reynolds Award for Outstanding Service in Public Administration, The Grambling State University Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Alpha Phi Alpha Distinguished Educator of the Year Award, and the Grambling State University Hall of Fame.
 
Dr. Schexnider is a coauthor of Blacks and the Military (Brookings Institution) and has written extensively on Public management and higher education. He has served on the editorial boards of Public Administration Review and the Journal of Power and Ethics.  He was featured in two documentaries regarding construction of the Alaska Canada Highway, one produced for American Legacy in 2003 and another produced for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) American Experience Series in 2005.
 
He serves on several boards including the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Board of Trustees of Excelsior College (New York), Chairman of the Innovation Integration Board of South Carolina, the Board of Governors of the Town Point Club, the Board of the United Way and the Board of Smart Beginnings of South Hampton Roads.  He is also a former trustee of Marketwatch Funds and Wachovia Funds and Municipal Funds.  
 
He is married and the father of a son and a daughter.

Previous TNCC College Presidents