A tireless advocate over many years for Germanna Community College, Jack Rowley of Stafford County received the 17th Annual Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy last week in Richmond.
More than two dozen individuals, families and organizations were honored with the 2023 Chancellor’s Award, according to a release from Germanna Community College spokesman Mike Zitz.
Dr. David Doré, the new Virginia Community College System chancellor, told honorees, “Were it not for your generosity, some of our students would have to put their hopes and dreams on hold, while others might have to abandon them altogether…we are extremely grateful.”
Virginia Foundation for Community College Education hosts the annual event to recognize philanthropists from each of Virginia’s 23 community colleges and the statewide foundation, the release stated. Recipients are nominated for outstanding commitment to the growth and development of Virginia’s community colleges and their respective foundations.
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This year’s class contributed $14 million to Virginia’s community colleges, Zitz said.
“Jack Rowley has worked fiercely and tirelessly for Germanna as a whole, especially in Stafford,” said Bruce Davis, head of the GCC Educational Foundation.
Rowley is the GCC Real Estate Foundation president and has been a Stafford Economic Development Authority Board member since 2001.
“Jack was involved with the Stafford EDA when they helped fund Germanna’s first little, tiny center in Stafford in 2009,” Davis said. “That facility was overwhelmed with students within three months of opening. Jack was then integrally involved in Germanna moving to a much larger rental facility which has served the school well up to the present.”
Experiencing spectacular growth in Stafford, Rowley led the recent effort to purchase two office buildings totaling 40,000 square feet, Davis added.
The buildings will open in 2024. One will be for the Germanna Nursing and Health Sciences program, doubling the number of graduates by 2027, according to the release.
The other will primarily be dedicated to the Germanna cybersecurity program, allowing students to work on their degree while interning for defense and intelligence contractors based in Stafford. The internships are expected to speed up the critical process of students receiving federal security clearances, the release stated.
Rowley has served on the GCC Educational Foundation board for 25 years and is the Stafford appointee on the Germanna Local College Board.
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