Dr. James Woodward is an Aeronautical engineer, professor and past chancellor of University of North Carolina at Charlotte. James Woodward was born in

Sanford, Florida Sanford is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Seminole County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 61,051. Known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City", Sanford sits on the southern shore ...

and grew up in Columbus, Georgia. He married his childhood sweetheart at the age of sixteen. Shortly after he graduated from high school and attended

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

. He decided he wanted to be an Aeronautical Engineer, so he enrolled in the School of Aeronautics at Georgia Tech where he graduated first in his class in 1961. He received his master's degree in 1962 and his PhD in engineering mechanics in 1967. Upon receiving his degree he taught as an Associate Professor of Engineering Mechanics at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. He was promoted to the rank of captain. In 1968 Woodward moved his family back down south and began teaching at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. In 1969 he accepted a tenured position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he would eventually serve as the Dean of the School of Engineering and the Senior Vice President. In 1989 Dr. Woodward began his long career as the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the UNC Charlotte succeeding Chancellor

E. K. Fretwell Elbert Kirtley Fretwell Jr. (October 29, 1923 – October 18, 2012) was an American academic and Chancellor Emeritus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He was born in New York City and is the son of Elbert K. Fretwell, who ser ...

. Under Woodward enrollment grew to 19,000 students. He continued the growth of the Graduate School at UNCC and added new doctoral programs. He oversaw the largest fundraising campaign the school had ever seen as well as construction of several new buildings on campus. Woodward retired in 2005. Woodward Hall, the home of the College of Computing and Informatics, was dedicated in Woodward's honor in 2005. In 2009 the UNC System asked Woodward to be the Interim Chancellor of NC State University.

References

External links

Chancellor James H Woodward records
J Murrey Atkins Library Archives, UNC Charlotte
Dr. James Woodward 2012 Alumni Awards Video

The Making of a Research University: James Woodward and UNC Charlotte
' by William Thomas Jeffers {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, James H 21st-century American engineers Leaders of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Living people Georgia Tech alumni People from Sanford, Florida North Carolina State University faculty United States Air Force Academy faculty University of Alabama at Birmingham faculty Year of birth missing (living people)