Paul Bestor Woodruff (August 28, 1943 – September 23, 2023) was an American professor of philosophy and dean at The University of Texas at Austin.
Born in New Jersey (though raised in western Pennsylvania), Woodruff attended Princeton University, where he completed a major in classics in 1965.
Inspired by the Socratic beliefs on rule of law, he served in the United States Army in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1971, during which time he attained the rank of captain.
He directed the Plan II Honors program from 1991 until 2006, when then University President William C. Powers, Jr. named Dr. Woodruff the inaugural dean of undergraduate studies.
Woodruff later published an essay in The Washington Post describing his philosophy of life as he faced death, as the result of bronchiectasis.