Dr. Wood is the Joseph F. Freeman Distinguished Professor of Insurance at Appalachian State University and a nationally recognized expert in the areas of agency operations and valuations.

He has received service and teaching awards from Appalachian State and the University of North Carolina's Board of Governors in addition to education awards from the N.C. Surplus Lines Association, the Independent Insurance Agents' Association of North Carolina, and an outstanding service award from the N.C. Commissioner of Insurance.   His research has been published in the CPCU Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Insurance Issues and Practices, Journal of Reinsurance, and the Journal of Economics and Finance.  As an active member of several national insurance organizations, he has served as a featured speaker at their gatherings.

Dave has served as a consultant to businesses concerning risk management decisions and has been an expert witness in cases involving insurance contract interpretation and agents' standard of care. He also directs a management development program for agents and has served as education consultant for the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) program. Prior to his career in education, he gained valuable practical experience working as an independent insurance agent.

He earned his Doctor of Business Administration degree from Louisiana Tech University.   He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Mississippi and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Delta State University.