The late Dr. Francis Tuttle was a past director of Oklahoma's State Department of Career and Technology Education for almost two decades. Dr. Tuttle pioneered the way for career and technical education nationwide.

Prior to coming to CareerTech, Tuttle was a vocational agriculture instructor and served as superintendent of schools at Gotebo, Muskogee, and Holdenville.

Following his retirement from ODCTE, the governor appointed him director of the Oklahoma Department of Economic Development. He subsequently was appointed secretary of commerce when that agency merged into the Department of Commerce.

Tuttle’s service to education includes consultations for Sweden, Thailand, the Soviet Union, and China. He is a past president of the American Vocational Association.
He was one of the first three inductees into the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame and recipient of the Henry G Bennett Distinguished Service Award in 1992.

Dr. Tuttle was inducted into the CareerTech Hall of Fame in 1990.