School of Business Administration

Senior Business Management student Chelsea Woodall recently interviewed Jason Woodard, the newest member of the University of Dayton’s Business Advisory Council. A 1997 UD graduate with a degree in Accounting and a former Flyer baseball player, Woodard now serves as Founder and CEO of Woodard Development, a full-service commercial real estate firm based in Dayton, OH. Among Woodard Development’s recent projects is the Premier Health Medical Facility on Brown Street, completed in 2023, which has become a significant asset to the UD community.

In her interview, Chelsea was struck by Woodard’s eagerness to keep learning—both as a member of the Business Advisory Council and as a leader in his field—a sentiment that emerged as a key takeaway from their conversation. Woodard shared valuable insights on navigating the transition from college to the professional world, emphasizing the importance of listening to others and the critical role of defining a clear organizational vision. As a long-time resident of Dayton, Woodard is eager to bring his local perspective to the Council and looks forward to contributing to the University’s ongoing growth and development.

Through her questions, Woodall gained a deeper understanding of Woodard’s career journey, his motivations, and his enthusiasm for joining the Business Advisory Council.

Interview: 

Chelsea: How did you end up choosing UD for college?

Jason Woodard: I grew up in the Dayton area and knew the admissions director as I went to high school with his daughter. I also had the opportunity to play baseball for the University, so those two factors made it a pretty easy choice to land at UD. I decided on Accounting once I got there. It actually took me a little while to find that path. Management Information Systems was a hot major, and I explored that a little bit, but I ultimately settled on Accounting. I had a great experience with the Accounting program and all the folks who were part of that program.

Chelsea:  How did your experiences at UD prepare you for your current role?

Jason Woodard: I have always told people that I thought it was a great blend of challenging academics and a great social atmosphere. You had to learn how to communicate with people but also have a little bit of fun while you’re working hard. That’s kind of a lot of what our business is centered around. It’s trying to solve tough problems in a cordial manner and help people find solutions to their problems in real estate or construction. I think the blend of the social life as well as the challenging academics prepared me well for what I’m doing today.

Chelsea:  What do you wish you had known when you were in my position

Jason Woodard: It’s rare to end up doing what you think you’re going to do. I think I wish I would’ve had a little bit more of an open mind to what I was going to do. Obviously there’s kind of a logical career path coming out of certain majors, but I wish I would’ve been a bit more open-minded to what’s actually out there in the business world beyond just the prescribed career path. Ultimately, I found that out, but it took me a few years.

Chelsea:  What influenced your decision to choose a career in real estate development?

Jason Woodard: I started in accounting. I worked in public accounting for only a couple of years and realized that wasn’t going to be rewarding for me personally. When I thought about what excited me from a professional standpoint, it was something tangible in nature. I guess, ultimately I was fortunate enough to land a spot with a local real estate development company. And as I say, you can’t get much more tangible than the buildings that exist in the community. Ultimately, the end product is pretty rewarding too, you can see what you did for a long time, good or bad.”

Chelsea:  What motivates you and keeps you passionate about your work?

Jason Woodard: Most of what we do is just the ultimate exercise and problem solving because it’s identifying where there’s a gap that we can fill and then trying to figure out all the pieces that have to come together to make that happen. I think it’s that cross-discipline part of my day that I’m buried in a spreadsheet, and then I’m meeting with government leaders, potential partners, or clients, as well as trying to convey a vision or an opportunity to get people rallied around that. It’s pretty easy to get excited. The variety suits me well. I think I’m just very blessed to have landed here because it certainly was not intentional. But once I got a taste of it, I knew this is what I wanted to do and it’s pretty easy to stay motivated.

Chelsea:  What motivated you to join the Business Advisory Council?

Jason Woodard: I guess being an alumni, I want to see anybody that goes through the school have a good experience. I think getting a wide range of viewpoints contributing to how the programs are formulated and hearing different areas of emphasis on what was important to me, which would be different than someone else that’s in the group. I’m just excited to be able to share my experience. We’re local, so I can at least bring some of that local flavor. It’s just nice to be able to participate and give back in some way because the University has been good to me.

Chelsea:  What are you most excited about in your new role as a BAC member?

Jason Woodard: I’m just anxious to learn. I guess you could equate it to starting freshman year. I’m excited to learn what the current direction is and where there’s areas of opportunity to try different things. And for me, it is more curiosity. I envision I’ll spend the first couple of years doing a lot more listening than speaking. I am looking forward to playing a very small role in shaping what the future of the business program looks like.

Chelsea:  Do you think about certain things that you do today, are you thinking back to when you were learning it at Dayton?

Jason Woodard: There were certainly a number of professors that had an influence. I’ll say one thing that’s kind of hard to quantify is just the credibility of being a Flyer grad. If you start with that, then a lot of conversations can happen. I think just maybe the kind of comradery or family feeling in the University. It’s just that much more powerful to be part of that Alumni Association and be able to make a small mark there. So I owe an awful lot of that to UD for sure.

Chelsea:  Do you have any advice about the transition from being a college student to being in the “real world”? 

Jason Woodard: I think the transition is hard because the accountability steps up. The big adjustment is trying to manage what you can do and how much you can take on, but also still do everything you want. I always had a tendency to take on too much and probably still do, but to me, it’s all about making sure that you are putting in the effort that you’re proud of, whether it’s work- or social-related. As soon as you start cheating, it’s not rewarding for anybody. So I think trying to figure out what that capacity is, is probably one of the biggest transitions, and I think that evolves over time. The number of things outside of direct work you take on, and for some people they can take on more early because the demands at work aren’t that intense, but as you advance, there’s kind of that up and down of how demanding the professional side of things are vs. the opportunity to do things outside of the professional