Rate My Professor R.J. Woodring

R.J. Woodring serves as the Associate Dean for Student Success and Administration at the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington, contributing to Education through his leadership in higher education administration. He holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration and an M.S. in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration, both from Indiana University Bloomington, and a B.G.S. in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas. His research specializations include higher education budgeting and finance, and public affairs education. Since joining the O'Neill School in 2014, Woodring has served as the administrative lead for undergraduate and master's degree programs, career services, international programs, and the Civic Leaders Living Learning Center, launching or expanding initiatives to improve student outcomes including the NextGeneration Leadership Program, Indiana Leadership Program, O'Neill's Mentor Collective partnership, O'Neill Launch orientation program, Washington Leadership Program, and O'Neill International Programs.

Prior to his current position, Woodring was associate director of budget, planning, and development in the Office of the Provost at Indiana University Bloomington and held administrative posts in the Division of Student Affairs. He has taught leadership courses in the O'Neill School and the IU School of Education. Woodring received the Joseph P. Cangemi Leadership and Organizational Behavior Outstanding Dissertation Award from the IU School of Education in 2016. Key publications include “Budgeting and budget models in student affairs,” co-authored with L. Reesor and J. Hornberger in Administration, Finance, and Budgeting in Higher Education and Student Affairs: Theory, Research, and Practice, edited by G.R. Serna and J.M. Cohen (2022); “Public service values education: A call to service for public affairs programs,” with Mary K. Feeney in the Journal of Public Affairs Education (2023); and a chapter on budgeting and budget models in student affairs in Administration, Leadership, Finance, and Budgeting in Higher Education and Student Affairs: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice (2025). These efforts highlight his influence on higher education administration and public affairs pedagogy.