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Brigadier General
James R. Woody
Permanent Professor 1982–1997
Vice Commandant of Cadets 1982–1984
Vice Dean of the Faculty 1988–1990
B.S., United States Air Force Academy
M.B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
D.B.A., University of Virginia
Jim Woody, the Academy’s 43rd Permanent Professor, was born in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1944. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1966 with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Management. He entered the Academy’s graduate study “co-op” program and received a Master’s degree in 1967 from the University of California, Los Angeles with a major in Finance. Jim then attended undergraduate pilot training at Laredo AFB, TX. After combat crew training at Castle AFB, CA, he was assigned to the 919th Air Refueling Squadron at McCoy AFB, FL, as a KC-135 Pilot and Instructor Pilot. Jim spent four years flying tankers and twice had six-month ARC LIGHT tours in Southeast Asia, where he flew more than 100 combat missions with 856 combat hours. He was assigned in 1972 to HQ Strategic Air Command, Offutt AFB, NE, where he served a career enrichment tour as Special Assistant to the Strategic Air Command’s Chief of Staff. Jim returned to USAFA in 1973 as an Instructor of Economics in the Department of Economics, Geography and Management and taught economics while supporting cadet flying. In 1975 he was selected for doctoral study at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. He returned to the Academy in 1978 and received his Doctorate in Business Administration in 1981 with a concentration in Finance. Jim served as Assistant Professor of Economics and Management, Deputy Department Head, and a T-39 Instructor Pilot until he became the Acting Head of the Department of Management in June 1981. He was appointed a Permanent Professor in March 1982. He next became the Vice Commandant of Cadets in December 1982. Jim conducted the investigation of the 1984 cadet honor scandal and co-authored the report to the Secretary of the Air Force. He returned to head the Department of Management in 1984. Jim became the Vice Dean of the Faculty in 1988 and served in that position until 1990 when he returned to his position as Head of the Department of Management. He also served in the cadet airmanship program as a T-41 and TG-7A Instructor Pilot. Jim Woody was promoted to brigadier general and retired from the USAF in 1997.
Upon retirement, Jim became the Business Administrator/Operations Pastor of the Pulpit Rock Church in Colorado Springs. In 2004 he returned to educational administration as the Chief Financial Officer of The Classical Academy in Colorado Springs, where he served until 2007. Jim was elected to The Classical Academy Board in 2009 and served as the Board Treasurer for five years and the Board Chairperson in 2015.