Professor Emeritus, World Languages and Cultural Studies

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• Ph.D., Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1970; Dissertation: A Comparative Study of Jean Anouilh and Moliere: The Development of Thought, Character, and Techniques in Anouilh's Theatre Considered in Relation to Moliere.
• M.A., University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1960; Thesis: Georges Duhamel and the Theatre.
• B.A., Athenaeum of Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1954; Ohio State Permanent Teaching Certification, French.

• St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, N.Y., 1971 --
  • Professor Emeritus, 2007 to present
  • Professor of French, 1998-2003 (retired as full-time professor in 2003 and continued to teach as adjunct through 2006)
  • Associate Professor of French, 1976-88
  • Assistant Professor of French, 1971-76
• Assistant Professor of French, Akron University, Akron, Ohio, 1967-71
• Instructor of French, Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, 1962-67
• High School Teacher of Latin and French, Forest Hills School District, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1960-62

Dr. Paul W. Wood, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Modem Languages at St. Bonaventure University, retired as a full-time professor in 2003. During his 35-year tenure, he was an instrumental force in driving language programs for collegiate and high school students, and bringing national recognition to St. Bonaventure University.

Dr. Wood taught Advanced Literature and Language courses and Intermediate French courses, and taught almost every French course in the university catalog during his tenure.

He served on the Faculty Senate, acted as a lector for Campus Ministries, served on the ROTC Advisory Board, and was a member of the Faculty Research Committee. In 1999, he established the university chapter of Phi Eta Sigma, a national honor society for freshmen and sophomores in the top 10 percent of their class. This program continues to provide scholarships to the chapter members. He also established the university's Eta Theta chapter of Pi Delta Phi and served as national president of this honor society.

During his nine-year tenure as chair of the Department of Modem Languages, Dr. Wood instituted a program to host foreign language teaching assistants (French, Spanish, Italian, and German), adding Japanese, and at one time Chinese, to the language curriculum. He also mentored and supervised these teaching assistants.

In addition, he was the student adviser for study abroad programs in Seville, Spain, a program he initiated in conjunction with the CCIS; Ealing College (now Thames Valley University), United Kingdom, and the Institute for American Universities in Aix-en-Provence, France. Having established contact with the CCIS, these programs became possible.

In 1993 he initiated a Peer Tutoring Program for modem language students of French and Spanish, which continues to date. He also supervised the selection and installation of the Tandberg Language Lab in 1992. 

For more than 10 years, Dr. Wood taught a two-week immersion program in Quebec, Canada. In addition, he created the concept of, and implemented, Language Day, an annually held competition among high school students in numerous activities involving languages. Language Day was hosted by the university for 15 years, 1972-1985 and 1994-1996, attracting up to 6,000 students to the university each year. The Language Day program developed by Dr. Wood continues to be held on a smaller scale each year in Buffalo, N.Y. 

Dr. Wood is the author of numerous articles, a filmstrip, and has presented at various conferences and seminars in the United States, Germany, and France as well as acting as an invited evaluator of programs in Spain, Ireland, France, England, and Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. He served a second term as president of Phi Delta Phi, the national French honor society for colleges and universities. As president, he presided at meetings of the association, directed the development of chapters throughout the United States, and was a member of the NCHS, National College Honor Societies.

Dr. Wood was also an active member of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) and the Western New York State Foreign Language Teachers Association. He has held various director positions in both organizations and served as the president of both organizations. He served as chairman of the State Council on Languages in 1989, an umbrella organization for the five leading state language organizations.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Wood has served and volunteered in a number of community organizations. He serves as a trustee of the Olean Council Knights of Columbus, having been the Grand Knight, and also acts as a trustee for the Regional Olean Assembly of the Fourth Degree in the Knights of Columbus, again, having been the Faithful Navigator.

Dr. Wood has been a judge for the Big Thirty Academic Scholarship program since its inception. He served on the board of the Cattaraugus County Council against Alcohol Substance Abuse for 10 years, being president in 1997. He has also been a board member and then served as president of the Friends of the Olean Library, 1985-1988. 

Dr. Wood was awarded a National Defense Education Act scholarships to study at Purdue University (1961) and the University of Oregon at Tours, France (1962). In addition, he received a summer grant to study French Language and Civilization in Angers, France, from the American Association of Teachers of French.

Dr. Wood served in the U.S. Army.

He has been married to his wife, Mary Lou, for 58 years, and has four children and 10 grandchildren.

Principal Academic Awards

• Member of Who's Who in American Education, 1992-96. the National Reference Institute.
• Member of Who's Who in the East, Marquis Who's Who, 1994 --
• New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers Ferdinand Di Bartholo New York State Distinguished Leadership Award, 1985.
• American Association of Teachers of French, Summer Fellowship for Study in Angers, France, 1976.
• National Defense Education Act Foreign Language Institute through the University of Oregon at Tours, France, Summer of 1962.
• National Defense Education Act Foreign Language Institute, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, Summer of 1961.

Principal Publications in Refereed Journals

• Wood, Paul W. "Perspectives on 1985." Language Association Bulletin, 37, No. 3 (1986), p. 6.
• "Reflections." Language Association Bulletin, 37, No. 1, (1985), p. 10.
• "A Guide to the NYSAFLT Annual Meeting," Language Association Bulletin, 35, No. 1, (1983), pp. 18-20.
• "Student Motivation: Try a Foreign Language Day." Foreign Language Annals, 11, No. 1, (1978), pp. 53-9.
• "The Why and Wherefore of a Language Day." Language Association Bulletin, 27, (1977), pp. 4-6.
• "Foreign Language Day to the Present: A Living Language Experience." Resources in Education, ED 127.

Published Instructional Materials

• Wood, Paul W., editor. Creating an Environment for Second Language Acquisition. New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers, New York, 1987.
• Wood, Paul W. How to Conduct a Foreign Language Fair. New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers (1977); Gessler Publishers (1980). (Film strip with cassette recording.)
• Numerous commissioned papers and invited presentations dating from 1985.

Principal Offices Held in Professional Organizations

• President, National French Honor Society, Pi Delta Phi, 1998 --
• President-Elect, National French Honor Society, Pi Delta Phi, 1996-98.
• Vice President, National French Honor Society, Pi Delta Phi, 1990-96.
• Installation Officer: Installed chapters of Pi Delta Phi, the National French Honor Society:
  • Buffalo State College, Buffalo, N.Y., 1991
  • Ithaca College, Ithaca, N.Y., 1992
  • Kennesaw College, Marietta, Ga., 1993
  • Drew University, Madison, N.J., 1995
  • Washington and Jefferson University, Washington, Pa., 1996
  • Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., 1996
  • Framingham State College, Framingham, Mass., 1996
  • Boston College, Boston, Mass., 1997
• Member of Past Presidents' Council of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers, 1989 --
• Consultant for Holt, Rinehart, Winston's anthology, Litterature francaise: textes et contextes, 1993.
• President of the New York State Council on Foreign Languages, 1986-88.
• Past President of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers, 1986.
• President of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers, 1985.
• Member of the Executive Committee of the College Council on International Education, 1984-93.
• President of Western New York Foreign Language Educators Council, 1978-80.
• President, Cattaraugus County Association of Foreign Language Teachers, 1975-76.

Leadership Positions for Staff Development

• Co-chairperson and site coordinator of Fall 1992 Regional Conference of the NYSAFLT, St. Bonaventure University, October 1992.
• Foreign Language Program Evaluator for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Education Evaluation of Teacher Education Programs at Edinboro University, 1987.
• Co-chairperson of Second Language Acquisition Council for Teachers, Techniques for Communicative Classrooms: Two Approaches, St. Bonaventure University, Nov. 23, 1987.
• Organizer of Collegiate Institute on "Language in the Elementary Grades," a three-credit graduate course offered at St. Bonaventure University, fall and spring of 1986-88, 1990-91, 1993.
• Symposium Member, "Tradition and Reform of the University from an International Perspective," University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany, May 1986.
• One of three invited United States participants in the international "Project Rendezvous," France, June-July 1985.
• Chairperson, NYSAFLT Annual Meeting, "Communication and Culture," October 1983, Kiamesha Lake, N.Y.
• Chairperson, NYSAFLT Summer Workshop for Foreign Language Teachers, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, August 1984.

Leadership Positions for Program Development

• Invited Participant in the "Business Culture Expanded: From Commercial French to Legal French" Symposium at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, June 1995, June 1996.
• Initiator of a French Summer Study Program at the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi, contracts signed January 1993.
• Invited Evaluator, Foreign Studies Program, College Consortium of International Studies, Seville, Spain, 1986-87, 1991-93.
• Initiator and Director of two-week (winter inter-session) intermediate level French course in Quebec City, Canada, 1975-83, at the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi, 1994-
• On-site Evaluator of Maynooth and Limerick Foreign Study Program while attending a Faculty Seminar, 1991.
• Developed St. Bonaventure co-sponsorship, Foreign Studies Program, Maynooth and Limerick, Ireland, 1991.
• Invited Evaluator, Foreign Studies Program, College Consortium of International Studies, Aix-en-Provence, 1986, 1990.
• Initiator and Coordinator, Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, 1986-89.
• Developed St. Bonaventure's co-sponsorship, Foreign Studies Program, Seville, Spain, 1985.
• Invited Evaluator, Program for Foreign Students, Ealing College (now Thames Valley University), Ealing, England, 1984.

University Service

• Founder and Moderator of Faculty Research Committee, 1996-98.
• Department Representative to the Library Committee for the NEH Grant, 1996-98.
• Initiated Peer Tutoring Program for Modern Language students of French and Spanish, all levels, 1993--
• Founder and Chair of St. Bonaventure University Foreign Language Day, 1975-82; 1994 --
• Department Chair, 1975-82; 1986-92.
• Foreign Studies Committee Chair, 1973-93.
• Military Advisory Board, 1980 --
• As Chair, supervised selection and installation of Tandberg Language Learning Center, 1992.
• Founder and Moderator of Eta Theta Chapter of Pi Delta Phi, National French Honor Society, 1973--
• Member of the Faculty Senate, 1985-88; 1974-77.

Community Service

• Cattaraugus County Council Against Substance Abuse, Board Member, 1993; Secretary, 1994-1996; President, 1996-1997; Board Member, 1997-2002
• Grand Knight, Olean Knights of Columbus, 1997-98
• Bulletin Editor, Olean Knights of Columbus, 1995-97
• Board Member, Keynote Chorus, 1993-95
• Translated Safety Statements into French for Conap, Inc., 1993; and for Alcas, 1991
• President, Olean Friends of the Library, 1985, 1986, 1987
• Member, Board of Directors, Olean Friends of the Library, 1983-88
• Secretary, SPEBSQA, 1985
• Member, Board of Directors of Enchanted Mountains Chapter of SPEBSQA, 1982-85