West Plains native Crockett W. Oaks III has been tapped as the new director of business and support services at Missouri State University-West Plains.
He began his new duties on July 1 and replaces Scott Schneider, who recently was named vice president for administrative and finance services at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Oaks comes to MSU-WP after spending more than 25 years working in a number of career fields and industries including petrochemicals, federal law enforcement, the U.S. Army and most recently the Missouri Probation and Parole Office.
“We are very excited to have Crockett fill this important position,” said MSU-WP Interim Chancellor Dennis Lancaster. “His experience, education, skill set and love of this community will be of great benefit to MSU-WP. The success of our campus is a team effort, and we look forward to his contributions as we continue to move forward.”
As director, Oaks will oversee all business office and physical plant operations, including planning and coordinating business services, mail services, purchasing and contracting, motor pool operations, maintenance and repair of campus infrastructure, and acquisition and divestment of property.
“I am excited about being a part of the university, particularly in this role,” Oaks said. “The ability to work across the campus and our community to provide a high-quality service that enables student learning appeals to me. The university has always symbolized the future of our community. Without the opportunity for advancement, which the university offers, the future of our region would not look as bright.
“MSU-WP has continuously afforded students from all walks of life a chance to pursue higher education in a safe and friendly community,” he added. “There are some exciting things happening around campus, and I am just delighted to be a member of this well-established team.”
Educational background and work history
Oaks received an Associate of Arts in General Studies degree from Kemper Military School and College in Boonville and was commissioned into the Army as a second lieutenant in 1991. He received a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond in 1993 and 1996, respectively. He also earned a Master of Business Administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Houston, Texas, in 2004.
For more than 33 years, Oaks has trained for a variety of roles as an Army Reserve officer. He most recently served as Missouri’s Emergency Preparedness liaison officer. He currently holds the rank of colonel.
He served 18 months as a state probation and parole officer and two years as the deputy, then chief, investigator for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office.
Prior to his assignments in Missouri, Oaks lived internationally in the Netherlands, Nigeria and Ukraine, but he maintained a U.S. location in Texas with his family. He was employed with Shell Oil Company for approximately 13 years, rising to the ranks of executive level management as the senior security executive for Shell Western Hemisphere.
Oaks served as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations for approximately seven years, specializing in the investigation of complex white collar crime matters. He has served as a police officer in Oklahoma City and has sat on a number of boards over the years, including most recently the Christos House board of directors in West Plains.
Oaks can be reached at CrockettOaks@MissouriState.edu or at 417-255-7258.
For more information about MSU-WP visit wp.missouristate.edu.