DR. RAYMOND W. STAATS
Dr. Raymond Staats
Dr. Staats is the President of Craven Community College in New Bern, North Carolina.
Dr. Staats began his professional career as a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force. Initially he served as a Space & Missile Operations officer, with positions in satellite command and control, space launch, and missile test and evaluation.
His military career transitioned to positions in higher education upon obtaining his doctorate at Virginia Tech in 2003. Dr. Staats served as a graduate faculty member at the Air Force Institute of Technology, in Dayton, Ohio. He joined the Community College of the Air Force in Montgomery Alabama in 2006, first as Vice Commandant and later as Commandant. He concluded his military career in 2009, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel with more than 20 years of Air Force active duty service. He has continued to pursue his passion for higher education leadership, initially serving in college executive positions in Illinois and Alabama. He joined Craven Community College as its fifth president on July 20, 2015.
Dr. Staats is an active community leader. He currently serves on the nonprofit boards of the New Bern and Havelock Chambers of Commerce, Swiss Bear Corporation, Craven 100 Alliance, Craven Community College Foundation and the Public Radio East Foundation. He also serves on the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s Presidential Advisory Board.
Dr. Staats holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Syracuse University, a Master of Science degree in Space Operations from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. He also is a graduate of Air War College and Harvard University’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education.
He and his wife, Dawn, celebrated their 31st anniversary in 2019. They have two adult sons and a granddaughter.
