Dr Phil Berkenbile - CareerTech's Sixth Director

Jan. 7, 2004 – Feb. 7, 2013

Dr. Phil Berkenbile

Phil Berkenbile began his career in Oklahoma as an agricultural education instructor for Morrison Public Schools and later became the superintendent of schools in Morrison. He served in various positions at ODCTE, including agricultural education northwest district supervisor and curriculum specialist, agricultural education assistant state supervisor, associate state director for education services and chief of staff.

He served on several boards and task forces, including chairman of the Governor’s Taskforce on Healthcare and chairman of the Oklahoma Education Technology Trust Foundation. He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural education from Oklahoma State University, and in 2006, he received the OSU Graduate of Distinction Award in Agricultural Education.

He has held several national positions including president of the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium. Berkenbile assumed this role at a pivotal time, as national and state leaders in education, including those at NASDCTEc, implemented a range of strategies to prepare students to compete in the global economy.

Berkenbile received the prestigious 2012 VIP Award from the Oklahoma FFA Association and the 2010 VIP Citation from the National FFA Organization. The VIP Citation is one of the most prestigious awards a person may receive for supporting FFA and its programs.

During Berkenbile's tenure as state director, ODCTE embraced the National Career Clusters initiative to help students create a strong pathway to careers and created science, technology, engineering and mathematics academies, including those for pre-engineering and biomedical studies, as well as offerings in biotechnology.