Gerald (“Jerry”) Woods received his BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel in 1968 and his JD degree from Emory University Lamar School of Law. He served as an attorney on the staff of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia for five years and thereafter joined the staff of the Medical College of Georgia (now Augusta University) in 1978 and served as general counsel and later as vice president for business operations until his retirement there in 2001. He then became counsel in the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton (now Kilpatrick Townsend) where he practiced primarily in the areas of college and university, healthcare and corporate law. In 2010 he became a partner in the law firm of FisherBroyles, LLP, an innovative cloud-based law firm, where he continued his higher education law practice. He retired from there on December 31, 2015.
An active member of NACUA since 1973, Jerry has attended and spoken at numerous NACUA conferences, has written articles for NACUA publications, served on numerous committees, and then served as an at-large member of the Board of Directors from 1983 – 1986, and then served as its Treasurer from 2005 – 2008, including more than a decade of continuous service on the Committee on Finance and Audit. In 2009, he received the Distinguished Service Award.
Since 1978, Mr. Woods has lived in Augusta, Georgia where he was a member of the City Council from 1984 to 1996. He has served on or chaired the boards of numerous charitable organizations such as the YMCA, Symphony Orchestra Augusta, the local United Way, various arts organizations, social service agencies and educational and environmental entities. He is married to Deborah J. Bates, M.D. and has two adult children.
In the words of one of his colleagues, “succinctly put, where there was money there was Jerry.” The characteristic that has made Jerry’s service so special throughout his membership in NACUA was not his trademark bow tie or his facility with numbers, but the fact that in everything he did, he was guided by a deep commitment to the stewardship of the association. In every service Jerry has provided to NACUA, his objectives have been selfless and for the good of the association.
NACUA is pleased to recognize Gerald W. Woods as a Life Member of the Association in recognition of his outstanding service and his sustained and substantial contributions to NACUA and the field of higher education law.