Charles E. Backes, Ph.D.

Professor, Adult and Career Education
Valdosta State University
Valdosta GA

Charles Backes received his B.S, M.S. and Ph.D. from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. He began his career as a vocational educator in 1981 as a woodworking teacher in Ascension Parish, LA. He moved his family to Valdosta, GA in 1993 to begin working as a teacher educator at Valdosta State University, where he currently works primarily with new Trade and Industrial and Healthcare Science Technology Education teachers throughout the state of Georgia. He also teaches professional education courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition to his work as an educator, he has worked in the construction fields as a cabinet maker, surveyor, laborer, and industrial carpenter.

He has been a member of the faculty of the National Training Institute since 2000. During this time, he has taught several different courses and has served on the Year One Curriculum Revision Committee. He also was instrumental in the development of the use of portfolios with the NTI and has worked with students and professional education faculty to integrate the portfolio into all four years of the NTI courses.

Outside of the National Training Institute, he is holds the rank of Professor and is the program coordinator for the Technical, Trade, and Industrial Education program at Valdosta State University, coordinates and instructs the New Teacher Institute at VSU, and serves on numerous institutional committees. He is the Affiliate Vice President for the Trade and Industrial Educators of Georgia (TIEGA), serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education (GACTE), and is a past president of the Valdosta State University chapter of Phi Delta Kappa (PDK). He also serves as a founding member and president of the Cypress Lakes Owners Association.

He is married to Lora Backes, who also is on the faculty of Valdosta State University. He has three daughters, two of whom are teachers and one who is preparing to enter college, two sons-in-law, and a great dog, Jolie. In his spare time, he enjoys scuba diving, fishing, kayaking, gardening, and woodworking.