I’m a university teacher, academic researcher, curious investigator, and lifelong procrastinator. I write articles that relate to what I am teaching, researching, and investigating, and I share relevant information that helps my students learn more about a career in project management.
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Currently, I work at the New York University School of Professional Studies as an Academic Director for the MS Project Management Program. I received my Ph.D. from Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL) and hold two professional certifications in project and program management (PMP®, PgMP®) from the Project Management Institute®. I obtained a Master of Business Administration (Information Technology Management) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
As Academic Director for the MS Project Management program, I get to work with project management professionals and students, helping both grow in their project management careers. You can learn more about this PMI GAC accredited program at https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/masters-degrees/ms-in-project-management.html.
I came late in life to academia, starting my Ph.D. at the age of 40 after a successful career in management and project management. I have over 25 years of experience managing people and projects in information technology, financial services, and academia. After my first job as a high school science teacher, I transitioned into the IT industry, moving my way through the project team ranks, where I started out as a quality assurance analyst and ended up as a manager of a project office for a large financial technology services organization. During those 15 years, I developed and implemented project management best practices, formed a project management office for a technology support department, and provided consulting and training services for people and organizations interested in improving their project management and interpersonal skills.
My biggest frustration in management was the recurring problems I faced in motivating employees, satisfying customers, and developing my teams. This frustration is what compelled me to begin my Ph.D. studies in management and organizational behavior.
By studying organizations and the people in them, I thought I could learn how to solve the problems I faced. I got more than I bargained for, as I learned not only what research says about these issues but I learned how to research other issues and came up with a very long list of questions I will now spend my academic career exploring. The questions I explore draw from my experience managing people, teams, and projects in the private sector, which serves as a stimulus for my research that focuses on bridging the disciplines of project management and organizational studies.
When not researching, teaching, and mentoring students, I research how people work together in organizational and project teams, spend time with my wonderful family, and sneak in time to work on my latest quilting project.
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Connect: https://linktr.ee/jmwoods
“The postings on this site are my own and do not represent the views, positions, or opinions of my employer or its affiliates.”