User:Osote

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William "Bill" I. Woods was born in Columbia, SC, and attended McMaster Elementary School, Hand Junior High School, and graduated in 1958 from Columbia High School. He majored in English at The University of South Carolina, graduating in 1962. He was a member of the Chi Psi Fraternity while at USC. Upon graduating from USC, he attended the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, TX. During his time at the Seminary, he received clinical pastoral training as a chaplain at Austin State Hospital (1965), and served one summer as a student assistant pastor in Mineral Wells, Texas. He graduated from the seminary in 1966, and was called to be Pastor at both Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church and Faith Presbyterian Church in Lancaster, SC. Woods' ministry in South Carolina was marked by his active commitment to youth ministry, migrant ministry, and mental health issues. He served the South Carolina Mental Health Association, as President of the Lancaster County chapter (1968-72), and as a member of the SC Executive Board of Directors (1970-1973). In recognition of his efforts, the Lancaster County Jaycees named Woods "Young Man of the Year" (1972). In 1973, Woods accepted a call to become Associate Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. While at Westminster Church, Woods continued to be active in youth ministry, and served as Secretary of the Women's Coordinating Council, Presbyterian Church US, Southwest Region (1976). With the Senior Pastor's resignation in 1976, Woods became acting Pastor, and resigned in 1977 when a new Pastor was named. In the subsequent years, Woods accepted numerous invitations to deliver sermons at other churches, primarily in Texas. He also served as an editor of the short-lived 'O Kerux: A Quarterly Journal of Sermons (1976-77). Woods then embarked on secular work. He accepted an Administrative Assistant position at the Division of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin (1979-83), where he edited the Division's newsletter, Biosphere. In 1983 he became Executive Assistant in the Department of Geological Sciences, a position he held until his retirement in 2006. While in Geological Sciences he received the College of Natural Sciences' Staff Excellence Award (1993) and the Department of Geological Sciences' Distinguished Service Award (2002).