Amarillo College to Honor Two Distinguished Alumni in 2026
Amarillo College will honor Dr. David Woodburn and Dr. Paul Proffer as its 2026 Distinguished Alumni, recognizing two graduates whose careers in health care, commitment to Amarillo and decades of service to the College have left a lasting impact on the community.
Woodburn and Proffer will be honored at a luncheon celebrating the 2026 AC Distinguished Alumni set for noon Wednesday, Sept. 30 at the Amarillo Country Club.
Both Woodburn and Proffer began their higher education journeys at Amarillo College before pursuing careers in health care and returning to Amarillo. Both also went on to serve as AC regents, bringing their professional expertise and commitment to the community to the college's governing board.
Dr. David Woodburn
For Woodburn, Amarillo College was the beginning of a path that would lead to a career in dentistry and a lifetime of service.
A graduate of Amarillo High School, Woodburn attended Amarillo College as a pre-dentistry student before continuing his education at the University of Houston and the University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston, where he earned his dental degree.
Woodburn remembers AC as a place where he encountered professors who made a lasting impression.
Among them was Jerry Sinese, his organic chemistry professor, whom Woodburn credits with making a difficult subject interesting and providing a strong foundation for the advanced biology and biochemistry courses he would encounter later in his education. He also remembers history professor Joe Taylor as another memorable influence.
“Amarillo College was among the best junior colleges in the country, and I kind of think it was, and still is,” Woodburn said.
After graduating from dental school in 1972, Woodburn fulfilled his military service obligation through the U.S. Public Health Service's National Health Service Corps. He spent three years in Rio Grande City, Texas, providing dental care to an underserved population before returning to Amarillo in 1975 and beginning a private practice.
His commitment to providing dental care to people who otherwise might not have access to it continued throughout his career.
After gaining experience providing dental care during a mission trip to Guatemala and while serving in South Texas, Woodburn participated in medical and dental mission trips to Mexico for approximately 20 years. He continues to participate in dental mission work in Belize.
Woodburn also was instrumental in bringing the Texas Mission of Mercy's large-scale, free dental clinics to Amarillo. Since 2011, five such events have provided care to more than 3,800 patients and delivered more than $3.5 million in dental services.
His community service has extended well beyond dentistry. Woodburn has served on numerous professional, nonprofit and civic boards, including the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Downtown Women's Center, Amarillo College Foundation and Texas Dental Association Board of Directors.
His service to Amarillo College has been especially enduring.
Woodburn was first elected to the AC Board of Regents in 2000 and has served as board chairman. After more than two decades of service, he remains an active member of the board.
Woodburn said his decision to seek a place on the board began with a conversation with an attorney who was also one of his dental patients.
“I had actually thought a few times that it would be kind of neat to be on the board of Amarillo College, but I never acted on it,” Woodburn recalled. “And then Robert came into the office one day, and he said, ‘You know, you ought to think about getting on the board of Amarillo College.’”
Woodburn did just that.
He said he has been honored to serve alongside people who care deeply about the college and the community.
For Woodburn, the Distinguished Alumni honor brings his journey back to where it began.
“I used to walk up these stairs and think to myself, you know, it would be neat to have my picture up there, and I never really imagined it would happen,” he said. “So I was really surprised and really honored.”
Dr. Paul Proffer
Proffer's connection to Amarillo College began long before he became a student.
His grandmother attended AC in 1930, when the college offered courses including sewing. His father also attended AC and played baseball, while his mother attended Amarillo College and worked in the college print shop. Proffer remembers visiting the print shop as a child.
Four generations of his family have now attended Amarillo College.
Proffer attended AC in 1988 and 1989 after returning home following a year of playing baseball at Vernon College. At the time, he wasn't sure where his education would lead. He thought he might become a pharmacist.
Then Dr. Peggy Alley, an AC organic chemistry professor, changed the trajectory of his life.
“Halfway through the year, she took me aside and said, ‘Have you thought about going to medical school?’” Proffer recalled.
His response was essentially that he could never make it through medical school.
“She really talked me through it, and really the rest is history,” he said. “I only went because she took that five minutes.”
Dr. Richard DeVoe, who taught Proffer anatomy and physiology at AC, further encouraged him to follow Dr. Alley's advice and pursue medical school.
“I really learned a lot here,” Proffer said of Amarillo College. “I don't know what I would have done if I wouldn't have had one professor that cared.”
Proffer earned his bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from West Texas A&M University in 1991 and went on to pursue a career in ophthalmology and oculofacial plastic surgery. After completing his medical training, he returned to his hometown in 2006 and launched Proffer Surgical Associates.
His experience as an AC student left a lasting impression.
Proffer remembers AC as a place where classes were small, professors were demanding but fair, and students could go directly to their professors for help. He credits the encouragement and personal attention he received from his professors with helping put him on the path to medicine.
That experience helped shape Proffer's belief in the power of education and mentorship — a belief he has carried into his service to Amarillo College.
Proffer has served on the AC Board of Regents since 2011, bringing his professional expertise and commitment to Amarillo to the college's governing board.
He also has been a strong advocate for the return of athletics to Amarillo College. Working with other community leaders, Proffer helped bring the need for athletics back to the attention of the Board of Regents and played a role in making the return of AC athletics possible.
He has further supported student-athletes by establishing an athletic scholarship, putting his own resources behind his belief in the opportunities that athletics can provide students.
Proffer said his motivation for serving Amarillo College is straightforward.
“I love Amarillo, and I want to make it as great as I can,” he said. “And Amarillo College is the same way. You just have to be there and be present.”
His commitment is part of a family tradition that now spans four generations at Amarillo College — from his grandmother's education in 1930 to his parents' connection to the college, his own experience as a student and regent and, later, his children's time as AC students.
“I think we've become vital to our economy,” Proffer said. “Start here, go anywhere.”
Continuing the AC Tradition
Although Woodburn and Proffer followed different paths, their stories share a common starting point: Amarillo College.
Both credit the college's faculty and environment with helping prepare them for the next steps in their education. Both built successful careers in health care and returned to Amarillo. And both chose to give their time, expertise and leadership to the institution that helped launch their careers.
Their selection as the 2026 Distinguished Alumni reflects not only what they accomplished after leaving Amarillo College, but also what they have continued to give back to the college and the community they call home.
Tickets to the luncheon are $40 per person or $250 for a table of 8. Reservations are due by Wednesday, Sept. 16. To make a reservation, call 806-371-5107 or emailing acfoundation@actx.edu.