Augusta, Ga. – Texas Lutheran University has named ASU President William A. Bloodworth, Jr., as a Most Distinguished Alumnus. A 1964 graduate, he received the award at the Alumni Association’s annual TLU Salutes dinner on Nov. 6 in Seguin, Tex. A native Texan, Dr. Bloodworth began his teaching career in the Texas public school system.

He has served 16 years as Augusta State’s president. During his tenure, he has overseen more than $100 million in new construction, the addition of student housing, a record enrollment, and a change in the institution from being a senior college to a state university.

Active in the community, he has served on many local boards including the Metro Augusta Chamber of Commerce, Augusta Neighborhood Improvement Corporation, American Red Cross, Historic Augusta, Greater Augusta Arts Council, Association of the United States Army, CSRA Development Companies, and CSRA Regional Education Service Agency as well as the state boards of the Georgia Medical Center Authority and Georgia Post-Secondary Education. Dr. Bloodworth has served as president of the Peach Belt Conference and is national president-elect of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. He is a member of Rotary Club of Augusta, Authors Club of Augusta, the Morris Museum of Art, and the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art.

He is the author of two books, Max Brand and Upton Sinclair, as well as numerous articles on the American West and Native Americans that have appeared in such journals as Western American Literature, South Dakota Quarterly, and the Journal of American Culture. He has also authored book chapters and entries in reference books as well as reviews of books about American literature and literary criticism, folklore, Native American studies, American history, and journalism.

Before joining Augusta State in 1993, he served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Central Missouri State University. He also served at East Carolina University and the University of Texas at Austin.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and education from Texas Lutheran University, a master’s degree in English from Lamar University in Beaumont, and a doctorate in American civilization from the University of Texas at Austin. He also attended the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.

Dr. Bloodworth is married to Julia Rankin Bloodworth, who works as guardian ad litem for child custody cases in the Augusta Judicial Circuit. The Bloodworths have two children. Their daughter, Nicole, is a graduate of North Carolina State University, and their son, Paul, is a graduate of Augusta State University.

For more information, call ASU’s Office of Public Relations and Publications at 706-737-1444.
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