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Dr. John Boyd Noftsinger, Jr., 48, of Harrisonburg died November 10, 2011 at home. Dr. Noftsinger was born on November 30, 1962 in Roanoke, Virginia and was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John B. Noftsinger, Sr. 
He was a graduate of William Fleming High School and he is a 1985 cum laude graduate of James Madison University with a double major in Political Science and Public Administration and a minor in Business Administration. As an undergraduate at Madison, he was selected as the first student to serve on the JMU Board of Visitors, as well as Who's Who, Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar Board, and Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He received his Master of Arts degree in Higher Education Administration from The Ohio State University in 1987. He is the 2009 winner of Ohio State University's Maude Stewart Alumni Award for leadership and innovation in higher education. In 1997, he received his doctoral degree in the Higher Education Program at the University of Virginia, where he was the 1994 winner of the Annette Gibbs Award for scholarly achievement in the program. His minor programs of study in the doctoral program at UVA were Research Methodology and Adult Development.
His professional career at JMU began in 1989, and most recently served as Vice Provost for Research and Public Service. In addition to his role as Vice Provost, Dr. Noftsinger served as Executive Director of the Institute for Infrastructure and Information Assurance, Professor of Integrated Science and Technology and Strategic Leadership, and as the President and Chair of James Madison Innovations.
As Vice Provost, Dr. Noftsinger developed a culture of innovation by facilitating grant and contract funding, homeland defense and security research, economic development, and intellectual property and technology transfer activities. Under his leadership, JMU achieved record levels of funding for sponsored research. He specialized in interdisciplinary program and grant development, highlighted by his leadership role in the conceptualization and implementation of the Information Analysis degree program, an undergraduate major designed to educate students on national security intelligence analysis and competitive intelligence. Also, Dr. Noftsinger served as a key participant in the development of the Strategic Leadership Ph.D. program, which emphasizes business principles, accountability, and leadership theory and applications in Education (K-12) Leadership, Nonprofit and Community Leadership and Higher Education.
Since beginning employment at JMU in 1989, Dr. Noftsinger has served as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI for 20 million dollars in Sponsored Programs. He spearheaded the successful development, funding and implementation of a variety of key programs at JMU including: the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery, Institute for Infrastructure and Information Assurance, Information Analyst degree program, Institute for National Security Analysis, Critical Infrastructure Protection Project, Mine Action Information Center, Shenandoah Valley Technology Council, James Madison Innovations, Virginia's Manufacturing Innovation Center, Shenandoah Valley Partnership, Workforce Information Network (WIN), Civil War Institute, Valley of Virginia Partnership for Education, William R. Nelson Institute for Public Affairs, and the Shenandoah Valley Business Gateway, resulting in millions more in external funding. He recently led the university's engagement in a state and local community effort to attract the Silicon Valley-based SRI International to open SRI Shenandoah Valley Center for Advanced Drug Research in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
His state-wide leadership was recognized when he was appointed by the Governor of Virginia as Co-Chair of the Virginia Research and Technology Advisory Commission. Dr. Noftsinger promoted collaboration among institutions of higher learning, and in this capacity serves as a Senior Fellow at George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute and as a member of the Steering Committee for the Critical Incident Analysis Group at the University of Virginia. He is a former Deputy Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
On the state, regional, and national levels he is a founding board member of the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCERC), Trustee for the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), and Chair of the SURA Relations Committee. In these roles, he has been an innovative leader in developing science and technology policy and economic development in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia and Mid-Atlantic region. Dr. Noftsinger was a founder, Board member, and is the former Chair of the Virginia Technology Alliance. He was a member of the Governor's Council on Technology Services and recently served on the General Assembly's Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) Advisory Committee on Nanotechnology. Dr. Noftsinger is the past President of the Board and current Board member of the National Association for Consortium Leadership.
On the local level, Dr. Noftsinger was a founder and served as the first President of the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council from 1997-2003. The SVTC awarded him the 2005 Shentel High Tech Leadership Award, and he received the organization's first Distinguished Service Award in 2001. He also served as a board member for the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, Shenandoah National Park Trust and is a member of the Virginia Biotechnology Association Research Advisory Council. Dr. Noftsinger is past Vice President and Board Member of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce and the former Chairman and an eight-year member of the Board of Directors of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. He is also a former Board member and President of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Harrisonburg/Rockingham County, where he co-founded their acclaimed school mentorship program. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Stonewall Jackson Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, after serving on the Executive Board for thirteen years.
Prior to his tenure at JMU, Dr. Noftsinger held administrative positions at Frostburg State University in Maryland from 1987-89 and at The Ohio State University from 1985-87. Dr. Noftsinger presented at numerous local, regional, national and international conferences and has published and consulted in the area of strategic alliances, economic development, homeland security, public policy, higher education and leadership. His newest book, Homeland Security: Policy, Perspectives, and Paradoxes, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in May 2007. He also co-edited a book entitled, Leveraging Resources Through Partnerships, published by Jossey-Bass in 2002. Additionally, Dr. Noftsinger’s scholarship included numerous book chapters and papers on a variety of topics relating to higher education, strategic alliances and security policy; and participation in post-graduate programs at Harvard University and the University of Oxford.
Dr. Noftsinger was actively engaged in coaching youth sports, Boys Scouts, mountain biking, skiing and hiking. He was the starting center for the JMU Faculty/Staff 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2010 Intramural Championship Hockey Team.
On April 18, 1998, he married Lucinda Bosley Shaheen who survives at home. Dr. Noftsinger is also survived by his three sons, Joshua, Zachary, and Jacob, his sister Mary K. Brumfield and husband Bill of Roanoke; and a large extended family.
The Noftsinger family will receive friends on Saturday November 12, 2011 at Kyger Funeral Home from 6:30-8:30 PM. A private burial service will be on Sunday at 2 PM with a Celebration of Life to follow at 5 PM at Kyger Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the John B. Noftsinger Jr. Trust Fund, C/O Suntrust Bank, Attn: Cindy Shockey, 1300 South Main St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
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