Derek Crews

My parents were both Christians and they made sure the family attended church regularly. My Dad also made sure that we had regular Bible reading and prayer times in our home, so I learned to trust God at an early age. I also learned to question God at an early age when my father died of a heart attack at the age of 43, leaving my Mom with seven children (of which I was the youngest at 5 years old). We lived on welfare, food stamps, and free school lunches for several years, but then my Mom remarried a wonderful Christian man, a 36-year old bachelor who took on a wife with seven children (I mean, really...who does that?). I learned to trust God even amidst the questions. That is my story: Trust, questions, doubt, trust, questions, doubt...but ultimately I have learned that I can trust God even though sometimes I question and doubt. He always proves himself and his Word to be faithful.

My Life

Favorite Quote

"You teach what you know but you reproduce who you are." Dr. Howard Hendricks

Friends describe me

Calm, Kind, Organized, Caring, Analytical, Competitive, Diplomatic

My hobbies

Woodworking, Travel, Reading, Bird Watching, Cattle Ranching

Fantasy dinner guests

Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, Luke, Moses, Elijah, Gideon, Noah, Jonah, King David, Martin Luther, Jan Hus, John Knox

Best advice I ever received

You will benefit from college regardless of what field you decide to work in. From Russell Kingsmore (my high school best friend's Dad)

My undergrad alma mater

University of North Texas

My worst subject in school

Calculus

In college I drove

1962 Mercury Comet

If I weren't a professor, I would

Be an architect

Favorite books

The Holy Bible, Anything by John Michener or Erik Larson

Favorite movies

Midway, A Beautiful Mind, Cold Mountain

Favorite city

London

Favorite coffee

Simple: Dark Roast with light cream and one raw sugar

Nobody knows I

Pray before every class

My latest accomplishment

My HR textbook, Mastering Human Resource Management, was published in a 2nd edition by FlatWorld in November of 2024.

Current Research

Factors that Drive Employee engagement; Predictive Talent Analytics.