Oklahoma CareerTech congratulates retired administrator Lindel Fields on his appointment to the office of state superintendent.
Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Fields today as the state superintendent to replace Ryan Walters, who recently resigned.
“Today is about steadying the ship. … This work is deeply personal,” Fields said during the press conference, adding that his office will have three priorities: reading proficiency, recruitment and retention of teachers and career pathways for students.
Fields served as superintendent and CEO of Tri County Technology Center in Bartlesville from 2009 until he retired in 2021 after a 30-year career in education.
“Lindel Fields has been a visionary leader in career and technology education, and his commitment to students and communities has left a lasting mark on our state. Gov. Stitt’s decision to appoint him superintendent of public instruction reflects the value of that experience and dedication,” said Oklahoma CareerTech State Director Brent Haken. “I am confident Lindel will bring the same energy, innovation and integrity to this new role that he brought to Tri County Technology Center and to Oklahoma CareerTech as a whole.”
Fields began his career in Oklahoma CareerTech in 1991 as a horticulture instructor at the Dick Conner Correctional Center. He became director of instruction to supervise the Skills Centers programs in the correctional system at sites across the state in 1994.
In 1998, he became assistant director at Central Technology Center in Drumright before moving to Tri County Tech, where he served as assistant superintendent of instruction and deputy superintendent before being named superintendent and CEO.
Enrollments at Tri County Tech tripled under Fields’ leadership, and he led the tech center to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2018. He received the Baldrige Foundation Leadership Excellence Award in 2021.
Oklahoma CareerTech: Oklahoma’s Workforce Leader
The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education provides leadership and resources and assures standards of excellence for a comprehensive statewide system of career and technology education. The system offers programs and services in 29 technology center districts operating on 63 campuses, 395 PK-12 school districts, 16 Skills Centers campuses that include three juvenile facilities and 32 adult education and family literacy providers.
The agency is governed by the State Board of Career and Technology Education and works closely with the State Department of Education and the State Regents for Higher Education to provide a seamless educational system for all Oklahomans.
