Dr. James Woodward is an Aeronautical engineer, professor and past chancellor of

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

. 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 Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. 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 Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

, so he enrolled in the School of Aeronautics at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

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 The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

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 The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...

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. 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)