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Dr. Randal Wood, a criminal justice professor, has strong ties to Jacksonville State University. "My great-grandfather, class of 1901, and my great-grandmother graduated from JSU. My father graduated from here. I graduated here. My roots are at JSU, going back 100 years,” he said. “I was an Army brat, so we moved around quite a bit. But this is mother's hometown. I moved here when I started eighth grade and I have been here ever since." Dr. Wood followed two career paths before settling full time into teaching. "While I was waiting for the results of my bar exam, I ran into an old JSU professor at a football game. He asked what I had been doing lately and mentioned to me that if I wanted to teach at JSU, he could probably help me out. I started teaching night classes. I started teaching one class, then two classes, then four classes a semester in the business department. I taught business law, finance and real estate courses. I had passed the bar exam and so I was practicing law at the same time. Then in 1986, Dr. Barker, then Dean of what used to be the College of Criminal Justice, called to say that both lawyers had left the department. He asked if I would like to come to the department, so I did. I started teaching full time and I have been here ever since. “I have not practiced law since I went full time. I don't really care for it anymore. I just enjoy teaching now. I enjoy the interaction with the students and just being in class with them. I enjoy advisement. I want to make sure they get the right classes and get out of here on time. I just enjoy teaching. I come from a long line of teachers." Dr. Wood teaches a variety of criminal justice courses such as Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminal Law, Criminal Courts, and Criminal Evidence. Dr. Wood is not currently teaching any graduate classes but has in the past. "Introduction to Criminal Justice 101 is the class I enjoy the most. It covers a wide area of information. Most of the students are freshman and I get a chance to meet them and influence them. Many students come into the criminal justice field after they take Criminal Justice 101. They get into the class and they are really interested in it." Dr. Wood also participates in many different organizations within the JSU community. "I am currently on the Faculty Research and Development Committee, and I am the undergraduate program director for the criminal justice department. I was on the Faculty Senate for four years and on the Athletic Committee for several years. I like to do my part and then move on." |
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