Las Cruces -- Doña Ana Community College (DACC) President Renay Scott today announced Benjamin Woods will be presented with an honorary degree during the DACC commencement on Thursday, May 12 at the Pan American Center on the New Mexico State University (NMSU) campus.
Woods recently retired after 25 years of service to NMSU. He will receive an associate of arts degree in business from DACC. The NMSU Board of Regents conferred the degree for the many contributions he made to education including the NMSU system community colleges.
Among his significant contributions to DACC are his leadership for multiple school bond and mill levy elections and support of the Central and East Mesa Campuses, as well as the Sunland Park, Gadsden, Chaparral and Hatch Centers.
Woods was born and raised in the Gulf Coast region of Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M University as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a degree in civil engineering. He earned a master’s in business administration from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. After active duty, he returned to College Station as the Manager of Engineering in the Texas A&M Physical Plant Department. Woods joined the Texas Air National Guard, 136th Civil Engineering Squadron and served until 1995 when he retired as Squadron Commander.
Woods’ career at NMSU began in 1990 as the director of facilities. He served 11 presidents while at the university. His positions included Vice President (VP) for facilities and services, VP for human and physical resources, Senior VP for planning, physical resources and university relations, Senior VP for external relations/chief of staff and president of Aggie Development Inc. Woods had earned many honors over his career including appointment to Leadership New Mexico, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award, New Mexico Amigos and Energy Professional of the Year.
He and his wife Chris have two children, Michael who recently accepted a faculty position at the new Burrell College of Medicine at NMSU and Jessica who lives in Dallas and works at the Children’s Hospital.
More than 1,600 DACC students are expected to graduate this spring with associate degrees or certificates. Approximately 750 students are expected to participate in graduation ceremonies this year.
Information from DACC