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James E. Witte

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Office of the City Manager

City Hall

144 Tichenor Ave, Suite 1

David D. Dorton

David D. Dorton

Director of Public Affairs

James. E. Witte
Lieutenant Colonel, USA

Lieutenant Colonel James E. Witte was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. In 1964, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Following his officer candidate school commission and flight school training, he flew helicopters in Vietnam from 1968 through 1971.

His military service included tours in Central and South America, Europe and Japan. A graduate of the Defense Language Program in Modern Standard Arabic, he also had several tours in the pre-Desert Storm Middle East.

Witte retired from military service in 1990 after completing 26 years of active service. His awards and medals include 29 Air Medals, two Bronze Stars, Pakistani Army Aviator Wings and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

After retiring, Witte earned a PhD in Adult Education from the University of South Florida. His academic areas of interest include training program development and evaluation and the mechanics of how learning is assessed.

In 1999, Witte came to Auburn and began as the only faculty member in Auburn University’s Adult Education program. Under his stewardship, the program has expanded into a nationally recognized and internationally active entity.

Witte’s multicultural and multilingual background brings a unique perspective to examining how people acquire information and develop their own learning. His academic skill, understanding and ability continually inspires students to exceed their own expectations. Witte is internationally recognized as a leader in the adult and continuing education field and was inducted into the Adult Education Hall of Fame in 2020. Witte holds the record for the most degrees awarded of any faculty member at Auburn University.

Capitalizing on his education and flying experience, Witte was appointed as the chair of Auburn’s Aviation Management program in 2020. On Feb. 4, 2022, the Auburn University Board of Trustees declared the Aviation Program as a School of Aviation, and Witte was appointed as the School of Aviation Director, a position he holds today.