Dr. Charles Starnes

From the High Seas to the South Plains

Dr. Charles Starnes, a native of Canyon, spent 27 years on submarines in the United States Navy. After retiring from the Navy in 1996 and returning to his hometown, he “quickly became bored.”

“I returned to school, earning a Master of Science in Finance and Economics from West Texas A&M. One of the professors there encouraged me to go to Texas Tech and get a PhD. I told him, ‘I’m too old!’ to which he replied, ‘No, you’re not!’ He was about 27 at the time and hadn’t been born when I joined the Navy.”

In 2003 Starnes earned his PhD in Economics from Texas Tech University. That same summer he was driving back to Canyon and decided to stop by the Wayland campus.

“I pulled onto the campus, saw the Nunn Business Building, and walked in. The Dean of the School of Business, Dr. Otto B. Schacht, was the only person in Nunn, and I introduced myself. A rapport was immediately established, and the warmth of Wayland was strong and clear. I eventually asked, ‘Got any faculty openings?’ to which he replied, ‘Here’s an application.’ Two weeks later I was hired as an assistant professor.”

When Starnes started in the fall of 2003, he said he felt no anxiety about his new job and that “this was the place my service to God was most needed.”

He also said that he was grateful that Dr. Schacht was in his office the day he visited Wayland and that he is blessed to be teaching at Wayland Baptist University.