Wade Watkins Interim Vice President for NOC Stillwater.

NOC President Dr. Clark Harris said, “Wade Watkins brings excellent administrative and teaching experience to the interim role of Vice President for NOC Stillwater, and he brings a passion for the NOC/OSU Gateway program. We are fortunate to have him serve in this interim role, as we work to maintain and strengthen our collaborative relationships with our educational partners.”

Watkins is excited to begin his new role.

“I’m excited to step into this new interim role and continue the critical work of creating and enhancing student opportunities with Oklahoma State University and other higher ed institutions as well as regional high schools and career technology centers,” Watkins said.

“The NOC/OSU Gateway Program has an incredible track record of educating outstanding students and sending them on to OSU and other universities to continue their successes in the classroom, research lab, or internship program, and eventually on to fruitful careers around the globe,” he added.

“I believe the future is very bright for higher education in Oklahoma,” Watkins said. “We have a lot of hard work to do on our various campuses, within the higher ed and common ed communities in general, and at the State Capitol. Our main focus will continue to be educating students and producing a well-rounded, creative, and exceptionally trained workforce, which will help Oklahoma become a happier and more prosperous place to live and work.”

Watkins added that NOC Stillwater has incredible faculty, staff, and facilities which provide college students with the opportunity to earn credits in a smaller, friendly environment which can allow them to find academic and personal success, while enjoying all of the amenities of living in Stillwater and being a part of Oklahoma State University Students who may have concerns about attending college classes or the overall college experience, often thrive at the Gateway Program and ultimately succeed in their undergraduate program.

Originally from Ada, Oklahoma, Watkins graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1992 with a degree in International Studies. Since his undergraduate days at OSU, Wade has been the Asia Manager for a global equipment manufacturer, a self-employed global business consultant, high school social studies teacher, university administrator, grad student, and community college instructor and administrator. He joined the social science faculty full-time at NOC in August 2004, splitting time between the Stillwater and Tonkawa campuses.

Since 2009, Watkins has served as NOC’s Dean of Global Education and continued to teach social science and humanities courses in Stillwater and around the world on Northern’s global education programs. Watkins has 18 years teaching experience at NOC Stillwater, and is the recipient of the NISOD Teaching Excellence Award, a 2014 DaVinci Fellow, and a two-time US Institute for Peace Summer Fellow.

Watkins has a Master’s degree in Governance and International Development from the University of Antwerp in Belgium. He frequently presents on contemporary global issues and study abroad topics, is active in several global education associations, and has lived, worked, or traveled in more than 140 countries. Wade has taken more than a thousand students overseas on education abroad programs, in 40+ countries on all seven continents.

Watkins replaces Ms. Diana Watkins, who is the new Vice President for Academic Affairs at NOC.

He enjoys reading, coffee, exploring new places and cultures, and spending time with his daughter Emma, a senior at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, who comes by her travel and coffee addictions honestly.

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