Background
Chris was born in 1969, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States.
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Chris Gerald Caulkins
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Education
Dr. Caulkins graduated from Hastings Senior High School in 1987. Prior to Hastings, Dr. Caulkins attended Woodbury Senior High School from 1983-1985 and then Highland Park High School in 1986. Dr. Caulkins graduated at the bottom of his class (lowest 10) and would not have graduated on time if it were not for him attending make-up night school courses to catch himself up. Dr. Caulkins attributes his poor grades to simply not knowing how to study and having relatively absentee parents, who functioned on a low educational level themselves. The mother was a high school graduate who gave birth to seven children, which did not allow for much individual attention. The father was a high school dropout, who eventually earned a GED and an associate degree. Unfortunately, the father was nearly completely disengaged from his children and often berated Dr. Caulkins for being "stupid" and for "never going to amount to anything."
Career
About a week after high school graduation in June of 1987, Dr. Caulkins moved to Indianapolis, Indiana to be with his girlfriend with whom he had had an off and on again long-distance relationship with since meeting her at a Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Living in relative poverty with low paying jobs, Dr. Caulkins quickly determined that his best shot at leaving poverty was to continue his education.
Dr. Caulkins enrolled at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) in 1988 and promptly failed his first course, which was study skills. Given Dr. Caulkins' past education history, this was hardly unexpected. Instead of giving up, Dr. Caulkins evaluated his situation, resolved to learn how to study better, and re-enrolled in the study skills course--this time passing the class. Because Dr. Caulkins' father would not share any of his tax information with IUPUI, Dr. Caulkins was ineligible for any financial aid. Deciding not to give up on his hopes of climbing out of poverty, Dr. Caulkins worked what extra he could and started paying tuition out-of-pocket as he took one to two courses at a time for the next five years. During this time, Dr. Caulkins took an emergency medical technician (EMT) course, during which he decided that he wanted to pursue advancing his education to the paramedic level.
In December of 1993, still without having earned a degree, Dr. Caulkins moved back to Minnesota and enrolled in a paramedic program, where he earned a Paramedic Technician Diploma and then an Associate in Applied Science in Paramedic Technology. Soon after, Dr. Caulkins started working as a paramedic and had successfully lifted himself out of poverty.
One day, while working a paramedic shift moving from base to base waiting for calls, Dr. Caulkins announced to his partner that "there has to be more to life than this." Soon after, Dr. Caulkins enrolled in a distance education program through the American College of Prehospital Medicine (ACPM), which has since gone out of business. By 2000, Dr. Caulkins had earned a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Medical Services from ACPM. This educational victory spurred Dr. Caulkins on as he realized that, once one knew how to study, learning is enjoyable and rewarding. Dr. Caulkins went on to earn a Master of Public Health in Administration from American Military University.
Dr. Caulkins decided that he would like to take more liberal arts courses, especially in anthropology. This desire spurred from reflecting on a childhood wish to be either a paleontologist or archeologist. Dr. Caulkins decided to start again from the beginning and earned an Associate in Arts from Inver Hills Community College in 2008. From there, Dr. Caulkins attended Metropolitan State University and earned a Bachelor of Individualized Studies with a concentration on the Anthropology of Disaster. At that point, Dr. Caulkins wanted to earn a doctorate but lacked confidence in himself. To bolster his confidence, Dr. Caulkins enrolled in a Master of Liberal Studies program and graduated from Metropolitan State University with a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, which was essentially a degree in interdisciplinary research.
Having finally achieved the confidence to pursue a doctorate, Dr. Caulkins enrolled in a program at St. Cloud State University and earned his Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration in December 2018.
Connections
Dr. Caulkins was married in 1990 and divorced in 1991. Dr. Caulkins remarried in 1996 and he and his wife, Mary, adopted a daughter, Bethany, from Romania. On March 5, 2003, Dr. Caulkins became a widower upon the death of Mary. In 2006, Dr. Caulkins married again to Nancy.
