James (know by all as Jimmy) was a member of the Board of Directors at TUFF from 1995 until retiring to emeritus status in April 2001.
Jimmy was invited to join the Board because of his expansive experience in law, board governance, higher education, and his involvement in the Atlanta community. He was an alumni of Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Law in Atlanta, and Harvard Law School. He served as director of nearly a dozen firms including The Coca-Cola Company, SunTrust Banks, Inc. and six other charitable foundations including the Woodruff Foundation and the Callaway Gardens Foundation. He was also Chairman of the Board at Berry College and a Trustee of Emory University and Oglethorpe University. He was a long-time partner at King and Spalding where he contributed to the creation of TUFF with the help of several other individuals and firms.
During his tenure as a TUFF board member, TUFF expanded significantly in downtown Atlanta through the development of a residential tower for Georgia State University, as well as the acquisition of the Rialto Theater for Georgia State. The theater helped to accomplish President Carl Patton’s wish for a world-class performing arts department and facility. Patton achieved both goals by also using the Rialto Theater as the department’s home. Through Jimmy, the Woodruff Foundation supported President Patton’s programmatic expansion.
Jimmy remained active after his retirement from the board of TUFF through the Woodruff Foundation’s involvement in Tech Square at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Woodruff Foundation’s gift to expand innovation at Georgia Tech was crucial in the development of the Georgia Tech incubator space at Tech Square. Sadly Jimmy passed away in 2015 at the age of 96, but was able to see TUFF expand its footprint considerably throughout the country as well as devise new approaches to support education and research.