UM School of Education development officer Billy Crews poses in his office Sunday. (DM Photo | Cady Herring)
Being an alumnus of Ole Miss and a Mississippi native, Billy Crews is no stranger to the city of Oxford. After working for many years in Tupelo, he returned to the city, first with Teach for America, and now as the development officer for the School of Education at The University of Mississippi.
It is no surprise that Crews would choose to bring his talents back to the university.
While Crews attended The University of Mississippi, he lived all four years in Kincannon Hall and majored in political science.
He admitted that the most memorable moments of his college career were the relationships he built with not only fellow students, but also with professors.
When asked who has influenced him the most in his career, he immediately named his sociology professor, Vaughn Grisham.
“Vaughn Grisham was literally responsible for introducing me to my career,” Crews said.
Coming from a family who focused heavily on the values of education, Crews seems to have taught his own children the same importance of public service. His daughter is now a social worker in Denver, Colorado. His middle son taught in inner city schools in North Carolina and is now an assistant principle in New Orleans, and his second son is starting his career as a Spanish teacher at North Panola High School.
“At this time of my life, I am only interested in working at something that I am passionate about, which happens to be education,” Crews said.
In Education Weeks 2015 Quality Counts ranking of states, Mississippi was given a grade of D, which includes the grading of areas such as Chance for Success, K-12 Achievement and School Finance.
“I want to ensure all schools and all students have the opportunity to use their gifts to excel,” Crews said. “Mississippi and the nation needs excellent teachers, and, as far as I’m concerned, that starts here at The University of Mississippi.”
He also believes that the School of Education is and should be the most impactful resource to the state of Mississippi because it supplies hundreds of teachers.
With the first 10 days of the new job under his belt, Crews admitted that he finds the School of Education to be a very meaningful work environment, full of driven faculty and staff.
“To become a leader in educational performance requires an excellent school of education. This requires private sector support. I’m hoping that my background will be helpful to build on our school and Dean David Rock’s vision,” Crews said. “I hope to help market and gain support to build on our strengths and be the most impactful school of education possible for our students and our region.”
