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Phil Woodward, professor at ��ݮ��Ƶ, passed away after courageously battling cancer, university leaders announced Monday, November 11, 2024. The beloved professor, who devoted more than 34 years of his life teaching accounting, was 68. He was passionate about mentoring students and helping them secure jobs at top-ranked accounting firms. 

“This is and will be a difficult time for our community as we reflect on the significant impact and incredible influence Phil made on so many in our community serving as professor of accounting,” Biola President Barry H. Corey said Monday. “Phil was a professor who led with his heart and mind, shepherding his students. Please pray for his family, his faculty peers, his students and his friends and colleagues within Biola and beyond that the Lord would be their comfort and their hope.”

Woodward began his career in the tax department at Deloitte & Touche (formerly Deloitte Haskins & Sells). Before joining ��ݮ��Ƶ, he served as an assistant vice president at a savings and loan company, where he helped develop a tax practice for financial planners. He also consulted with a real estate and investment firm, appeared regularly on local radio talk shows, and provided expert witness testimony on accounting and tax matters. A member of the American Accounting Association, he specialized in financial, managerial and tax accounting. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses, Woodward served as the faculty advisor for the Biola Accounting Society. He was also the chair of the Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcc) program, which he helped establish in 2015.

Biola students appreciated Woodward’s classes for their rigor and thorough preparation for the accounting profession.

“Professor Woodward was a great professor who, with God’s help, built a top-rate accounting program that placed students from a small school at the very best accounting firms in the world,” said Woodward’s former student and alumnus Brian Burnett (’00). “For over 30 years he invested in us students. Teaching us. Encouraging us. Believing in us. I’ll never forget the way he would light up with delight when he would see us. He made us feel special. He was also a ton of fun to be around. I know, accounting and fun aren’t usually two words that go together, but they did with Professor Woodward! Later I was blessed to get to teach alongside him and will always treasure those years.”

Woodward started at Biola in Fall 1990 as professor of accounting. His impact is far-reaching after 34 years of service at Biola with the accounting graduates consistently being placed in internships and jobs in the “Big 4” accounting firms. He established the Meet the Firms event that hosts accounting firms on campus to recruit accounting students.

“I met Phil Woodward very early after my arrival at ��ݮ��Ƶ and quickly discovered why he was so beloved by his colleagues and students, ” said Provost and Senior Vice President Matthew J. Hall. “His love for teaching and seeing his students thrive not only professionally, but in their lives as followers of Jesus, has left such an indelible imprint not only on the Crowell School of Business, but on the entire Biola community.”

Colleagues and students described Woodward as a man of passion, dedication and someone who deeply loved the Lord.

In 2017 when he was asked what he enjoyed most about teaching, Woodward responded, “It brings me joy to know that the Biola students are well trained in accounting and their knowledge of the Bible so they can bring light into a dark world that so desperately needs it.”

Dean of Crowell School of Business, Dr. Michael Arena, described him as more than just a professor, recognizing him a mentor, a friend and an inspiration to all who had the privilege of knowing him.

“As we remember Phil's life and the extraordinary legacy he leaves behind, let us draw strength from one another,” said Arena. “Though we grieve, we find comfort in the promises of Scripture. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, we are reminded that we ‘do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.’ For just as ‘Jesus died and rose again, we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.’ Though we mourn, we do so with the hope that we will see him again, assured that he is now at peace in the presence of our Lord.”

Information about a memorial service will be announced in the days to come.