Dr. Tyler Tapps

Assistant Vice President, Health and Wellbeing

Biographical Sketch, Tyler Tapps

Education – Tyler Tapps graduated from Northwest with a BS in Corporate Wellness and MS in Recreation. He also received his Ph.D. in Health, Leisure and Human Services from Oklahoma State University.

Work Experience – Tyler Tapps has a diverse work experience in the higher education sector. Most recently Tyler served for 5 years as the Assistant Director for the School of Health Science and Wellness. He was also on the President’s strategic planning team as a fellow for institutional strategic planning for three years. Prior to that he was the Director of Profession-based learning and worked as and Executive Director of OTRAC, a recreation contract assistance center. Tyler was also a tenured Associate Professor serving11 years in the classroom.

Impact of Work Experience – Tyler’s administrative and teaching experience has left a lasting impact. His grant writing and operations classes designed and developed the 3.1 mile Bearcat trail loop that exists on Northwest’s campus. Also, in his profession-based learning roles, Tyler’s work helped to grow dual credit hours by 500%. As Assistant Director, Tyler created new programs and classes that helped to incrase enrollment and credit hour generation. As Executive Director, Tyler’s contacts helped to provide recreation research programs for more than 4,000 people in the Northern Oklahoma region.

Coalitions & Collaborations Involved With- Tyler is deeply rooted in the community. Tyler has served as president of the finance committee at his local church. He was the vice-president of the Maryville Park and Recreation Board and currently served as the president of the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce. Tyler also cares about creating experience for the youth of Northwest Missouri. Tyler founded and incorporated The Spoofhound Youth Wrestling Club non-profit organization that provides practices and training to kids in the Northwest area. This club serves approximately 50 kids per year since 2018.

Training, fluency, and experience working with cultural and linguistically diverse populations- Tyler Tapps is a veteran of foreign war. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 2000-2006 with multiple deployments including the middle-east. He has authored multiple pieces about his experience and professional standard for working with diveres groups and serving underrepresented populations. As a first generation college graduate he understands the demand and importance of creating new sustainabile ideas through the lens of different experiences.