Jack Woolf

Jack R. Woolf
File:Jack Royce Woolf.jpg
Born	(1924-06-10)10 June 1924 Trinidad, Texas, USA
Died	10 June 2014(2014-06-10) Arlington, Texas, USA
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	Texas A&M University Purdue University
Known for	President University of Texas at Arlington
Honors	Woolf Hall University of Texas at Arlington Distinguished Alumnus College of Engineering Purdue University Academy of Distinguished Graduates of Mechanical Engineering Texas A&M University

Jack Royce Woolf (June 10, 1924 – June 10, 2014) was an American academic who was President of the University of Texas at Arlington. He served the University from 1957, when he became Dean of Engineering, until 1989, when he retired. After serving as Dean of Engineering, Woolf became acting President in 1958 and President in 1960. He resigned from that post in 1968.

Early Life & Education

Jack Royce Woolf was born to Jeff D. and Emily Mahaza (Bradley) Woolf on June 10, 1924, in Trinidad, Texas. His Grandmother Woolf's family had settled in the Trinidad Texas area just after the Civil War.

After graduating from Trinidad High School, Jack Woolf enrolled in Texas A&M College in 1941, but in 1943 left A&M to enter active duty in the US Army. He became a commissioned officer in the US Army Air Corps and served for three and one-half years. During his service he commanded an aviation engineering company that built air strips in the Philippines. In 1944 he re-entered Texas A&M and in 1948 received the B.S. and M. S. in mechanical engineering. On July 10, 1948, he married Martha Lee Frazar of Strawn, TX. They moved to Indiana where Jack was an instructor and graduate student at Purdue University. He received the Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering on June 10, 1951.

Career

Upon graduation from Purdue, Dr. Woolf accepted a position as a research engineer and supervisor of propulsion research and a team member on the B-58 project with Convair (now Lockheed Martin) in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 1956, he joined Texas A&M in College Station, Texas as a professor in mechanical engineering and assistant Dean Of Engineering. In 1957, Woolf became associated with Arlington State College (ASC), then part of the A&M system. He was dean of engineering for one year. In 1958 following the death of ASC President E.H. Hereford, Woolf was named Acting President. In September 1959 Dr Woolf was named president.

During Woolf's tenure as President, UTA became a four-year college, began offering accredited degrees in Aeronautical, Civil, Electrical, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering and became the first Texas A&M System school to integrate (1962) and the first to accept black athletes (1963). In 1965, under Woolf's leadership, ASC transitioned from the A&M System to the University of Texas System and Arlington State College was renamed The University of Texas at Arlington. (1967) Under his presidency ASC/UTA expanded rapidly from enrollment of 5,000 to 11,500 and instituted its first Masters and Ph.D. graduate degree programs.

Retirement

On Sept. 1, 1968, Dr. Woolf resigned the presidency and was named President Emeritus and University Professor of Engineering and Higher Education. He continued to teach courses in Mechanical Engineering, retiring in 1989. In addition to his duties at UTA, he was a consultant to several universities and educational agencies. He was also the Executive Director of the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities for over 10 years.

In 1964 Jack Woolf was designated a "Distinguished Alumnus" of the College of Engineering of Purdue University, one of the first ten to be so honored. He also was selected to the Academy of Distinguished Graduates of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University.

In 1995, UTA renamed the Engineering Building (the first building built during his presidency), Woolf Hall.

Woolf Hall, University of Texas at Arlington.

Jack R. Woolf died on his 90th birthday on June 10, 2014 from natural causes.

See also

University of Texas at Arlington College of Engineering