Dr. William Wayne Scott, 82, passed away peacefully with his family in Johnson City, Tennessee Sept. 30, 2019. He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and graduated from Chattanooga Central High School in 1956. He earned a BS degree in engineering - physics from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where he served in ROTC and became a Reserve Commissioned Officer of the Army. He earned a MA degree in physics from The College of William and Mary and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and Leadership from The Ohio State University.
He served as Nuclear Radiation Physicist with NASA. He was a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Georgia. He was Professor of Physics and Head of the Department of Nuclear Technology at Chattanooga State Technical Institute and also served as Consultant Physicist and Computer Specialist at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. He was President of Oconee Community College in Seneca, South Carolina; CEO for State Board for Community Colleges, Columbia, South Carolina; CAO of Greenville Technical College, Greenville, South Carolina; President and CEO of Dekalb College in Atlanta; President of Gaston College in Gastonia, North Carolina; and VP of Covington-Newton Campus, Dekalb Technical College in Covington. For more than 14 years, he was Program Chairperson and Lecturer for The AMA.
He had a love of people and service and spent many hours sharing his talents with numerous voluntary boards and organizations. He authored 22 books on success and motivation and did extensive research on the Enneagram. He leaves his friends and family with many remembrances from his lifetime hobby of artwork. His lifetime passion was finding ways to motivate others and help everyone he knew reach their full potential. He had a great love of animals and will be missed by his two dogs, Bailey and Rosie.
He was preceded in death by his parents, OL Scott and Essie Mae Frazier and his brother, Richard Lee Scott. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Jane Morrison Scott, two daughters, Michele Watson Scott and Melissa Scott Gray (Jeff), and four grandchildren - Parker, Connor, Thomas and Georgia. He was deeply loved by his family and friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 at Boones Creek Bible Church, 1528 Old Gray Station Road, Johnson City, TN 37615. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
