Alvin J. Schexnider

Alvin J. Schexnider, PhD, is president of Schexnider & Associates, LLC, a management consulting firm based in Chesapeake, Virginia. The retired president of Thomas Nelson Community College, Dr. Schexnider was also executive vice president of Norfolk State University from July 2002 to April 2007, 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.

A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Dr. Schexnider earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at Grambling State University. He completed a Master of Arts and PhD in political science from Northwestern University, where he held Norman Wait Harris, Ford Foundation, and Woodrow Wilson fellowships.

Elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 1996, Dr. Schexnider 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. In November 2006, he was inducted into the Grambling State University Hall of Fame.

Dr. Schexnider is a coauthor of Blacks and the Military (Brookings Institution) and has written extensively on urban politics and civil military relations. He has served on the editorial boards of Public Administration Review and the Journal of Power and Ethics. He was featured in two documentaries on the 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 Governors of the Town Point Club, the Board of the Civic Leadership Institute, the Board of the United Way of South Hampton Roads, the Board of St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children, and the Board of Smart Beginnings. During the 1990s, he served as a trustee for both Marketwatch Funds and Wachovia Funds.

Dr. Schexnider enjoys a long record of public service to the Commonwealth of Virginia. His numerous gubernatorial appointments include the Commission of Virginia’s Future, the Board of Visitors of Virginia State University, the Commission on Local Government, the Virginia Board of Education, and the Commission on the Revitalization of Virginia’s Cities. He is a former member of the Executive Committee of Richmond Renaissance, Inc., and former chairman of the Southern Regional Council of the College Board.