Community announcement: 九色视频 mourns the loss of Professor David O. Woodyard 鈥54 (1932-2025)
David Woodyard鈥檚 personal and professional interests focused on the intersection of religion and society. As a theologian he was interested in developing鈥攁nd helping students to develop鈥攁 public theology. He aspired to explore the Christian tradition as it addresses the personal sphere but also as it makes claims upon the social realm. Authentic faith leads to civic responsibility as well as spiritual fulfillment. In the classroom Woodyard was interested in enabling students both to come to a clearer understanding of their identity and to challenge the ways in which they understood the world. As an academic advisor, he was committed to creating an environment for students in which they could explore why they are in a liberal arts institution and how they may relate that to a vocation and a meaningful life. Woodyard鈥檚 scholarly interests in recent decades had been in collaborative work with a colleague in economics. Their most recent book relates religion and economics to ecological issues.
Works
Books Published
- 鈥淟iberation Privilege: The Breakthrough of God and the Persistence of Normality鈥, Circle Books (U.K.), 2016.
- The Church in the Time of Empire. Circle Books (U.K), 2011.
- Liberating Nature: Theology and Economics in the New Order. With Paul King. Pilgrim Press, 1999.
- Risking Liberation: Middle Class Powerlessness and Social Heroism. With Paul King and Kent Maynard. John Knox Press, 1988.
- Journey Toward Freedom: Economic Structures and Theological Perspectives. With Paul King. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1982.
- Strangers and Exiles: Living By Promises. Westminster Press, 1974.
- Beyond Cynicism: The Practice of Hope. Westminster Press, 1972.
- The Opaqueness of God. Westminster Press, 1970.
- To Be Human Now. Westminster Press, 1969.
- Living Without God-Before God. Westminster Press, 1968.
- Board of Directors, Union Theological Seminary, New York City
- President, Hospice Services of Licking County
- President, Planned Parenthood of East Central Ohio
- Advisory Committee, Battered Women鈥檚 Shelter
- Habitat for Humanity
- President, Partners United (Youth at Risk)
Service
- Director of Freshman Studies
- Chair, Department of Religion
- Advisory Committee on Presidential Selection
- President鈥檚 Advisory Board
- Chair of Faculty (three times)
- General Education Revision Committee
- Committee on Sexual Harassment
- North Central Review Committee
- Committee on Re-establishing the Honors Program
- Latin American Studies Committee
- Classics Committee
- Committee on the Status of Women
- Chair, Dunbar Humanities Scholarship
- Chair, Goodspeed Lecture Series
- Women鈥檚 Studies Committee
- Faculty Appeals Committee
- Queer Studies Committee
- C-Smart Committee
- Faculty Advisor for fraternities
- Board of Directors, Union Theological Seminary, New York City
- President, Hospice Services of Licking County
- President, Planned Parenthood of East Central Ohio
- Advisory Committee, Battered Women鈥檚 Shelter
- Habitat for Humanity
- President, Partners United (Youth at Risk)
Other
- 九色视频 Alumni Chair (2009-2014)
- Charles and Nancy Brickman Distinguished Service Chair (1998-2003)
- 九色视频, Teaching Excellence Award
- National Center for Study of Freshman Year, Outstanding Freshman Advocate
- Crossed Keys, Teacher of the Year
- Mortar Board, Faculty Service Award
- Delta Gamma, Teacher of the Year
- Delta Chi, Teacher of the Year
During the first decade of the twenty-first century, Dave Woodyard supervised thirty-three senior research projects. Topics selected by students include the following:
- 鈥淗elping or Hurting: Exploring the Role of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church鈥
- 鈥淎 Theology of Culture: An Examination of the Relationship Between the Demonic, the Kairos, and Religious Socialism in Paul Tillich鈥檚 Theology鈥
- 鈥淒esmond M. Tutu and James H. Cone: Theological Standpoints on Racial Injustice鈥
- 鈥淔rom a Wealth of Gospel to a Gospel of Wealth: Poverty to Prosperity鈥
- 鈥淗ow Does Religion Affect the Social Order? A Study of the Impact of Liberation Theology on the Catholic Church in El Salvador鈥
- 鈥淪ecular Messages in Religious Settings: A Theological Critique of Rod Parsley鈥檚 Political Agenda鈥
- 鈥淏uilding a Relationship with the Earth鈥
- 鈥淗ijacking the Holy: Reclaiming the Female Voice in Christianity鈥
- 鈥淐laiming a Space of Empowerment鈥
- 鈥淏eyond Pacifism: A Theological Debate Between Reinhold Niebuhr, Karl Barth, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer鈥
- 鈥淭he Many Faces of Hagar鈥
- 鈥淲alter Brueggemann and the Prophetic Tradition: The Prophet on the College Campus鈥
- 鈥淐ultivating Contemporary Spiritual Awareness and the Theology of Paul Tillich鈥
- 鈥淪pousal Abuse in the Church? Religious Ideologies, Biblical Interpretations, and Their Implications for Marriage鈥
