New Faculty Spotlight: Jack Staats

As Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

This is the same philosophy of Jack Staats, Northwestern’s newest faculty addition to the Agriculture Department

Staats grew up in Laverne, Okla., and was an active member of the Laverne FFA chapter. The influence of his FFA advisor, Fred Schultz, gave him the inspiration to pursue a career in teaching Agricultural Education.

“He was a really good mentor,” said Staats. “I appreciated his ability to inspire me to go into his field.”

After graduation, he attended both Panhandle State University and Oklahoma State University majoring in agricultural education.

Staats began his teaching career in Freedom, where he taught from 1973-1976. Following a year of teaching in Buffalo, he began his long career in Alva (Okla.) Public Schools where he was the agricultural education instructor from 1977 to 2007.

While teaching in Alva, Staats decided to pursue a master’s degree in education, making him a Northwestern alumnus as well.

In 2007, Staats pursued another career change and served as the program manager and Oklahoma FFA advisor for the Oklahoma Department of CareerTech. This position included supervising 362 schools, 442 teachers, and approximately 27,000 students. During his time as advisor, Staats served as the president of the National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education in 2013-2014. He was named Outstanding NASAE National State Supervisor in 2016.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have had a lot of people help me. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in many different areas, from different types of animals to different types of agricultural experiences and leadership roles. This experience helps me to have some insight on teaching agricultural education.”

Having raised their family in Alva, Staats and his wife, Loni, had always wanted to return to this corner of northwest Oklahoma.

“I’ve always wanted to retire back to the Alva area. I really liked the agriculture faculty at Northwestern and we had talked about an opportunity for me to come back and further the agricultural education portion of the Ag Department. I took this as a challenge and it interested me. I have a huge desire to build this program and help provide the best agricultural education teachers to the state of Oklahoma.

“The thing I’m most excited about is getting to be involved with young people again and teach. When I left the classroom, the hardest thing for me to go without was the interaction with the young people.”

Staats understands that educators can mold the minds of their students. The educator must be adamant in their love for their respected field and showcase that passion to and through their students.

“What my students can expect is passion from me. I have a passion for teaching agriculture education and I wish my students to feel the same way should they choose to pursue that avenue.

“I still go back to the old saying, ‘If you choose the right profession, you’ll never work another day in your life because you’ll always enjoy it.”

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New Faculty Spotlight: Jack Staats

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