Dr. Steve Ward grew up in western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) and moved to Washington D.C., to start employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and then later transferred to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). While working for the FBI, Dr. Ward was a student at this very campus – Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria Campus (NOVA-AL). Dr. Ward retired after a 32-year federal service career working in the Information Technology/Network/Cybersecurity field while living and traveling overseas for almost 20 years.

Soon after retirement from the federal government, Dr. Ward started his career in higher education as an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College’s Loudoun Campus (NOVA-LO), and also at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. He was then hired full-time at the NOVA-Alexandria (AL) campus in the Information Technology (IT) department. Dr. Ward moved into the Assistant Dean for IT position and held that for two years, and then became the Lead Assistant Dean for the Social and Professional Sciences division in July, 2015, a position he currently holds. Dr. Ward teaches network and cybersecurity classes.

Education

(Ph.D.) – Doctor of Philosophy, Business. Capella University.

(MS) – Master’s Degree, The George Washington University. Engineering Management & Systems Engineering.

(MPA) – Master’s in Public Administration. Troy State University.

(BS) – Bachelor of Science, University of Maryland University College (UMUC). Management Studies with a minor in Psychology.

Industry Certifications

CompTIA Security+
EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)