Dr. Kris Bunton, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Thomas since June 2011, has been named dean of the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at Texas Christian University.
TCU made the announcement Friday and Bunton is scheduled to begin in her new post on July 1. As dean Bunton will be the chief executive officer of the college and “be responsible for the administrative and academic functions of the College and serve as the leading advocate of the faculty, staff, students and programs to the community and other external constituencies.”
“I came to St. Thomas for the mission and the central place of ethics in students’ experiences,” Bunton said. “I’ve always felt like I was still helping to facilitate the ways we could help teach students to be ethical leaders. For me, that’s the theme also being played at TCU. Their mission statement is to create ethical leaders in a global environment.”
The departure ends a run of 22 years for Bunton at St. Thomas:
- Faculty member of Journalism and Mass Communication Department from 1993 and taught continuously through 2015, including senior capstone course in ethics.
- Chair of Journalism and Mass Communication department in 2005.
- Helped oversee Journalism and Mass Communication's merger with Communication Studies to form Communication and Journalism Department, and was named inaugural department chair.
- Oversaw transition from student newspaper, The Aquin, to award-winning, online student media, TommieMedia.
- Named associate dean of College of Arts and Sciences in 2011.
“I can’t imagine having been able to do the job of dean these past four years without having Kris as my partner in the dean’s office,” said Dr. Terry Langan, dean of St. Thomas’ College of Arts and Sciences. “We owe Kris a lot for all that she has done for the College of Arts and Sciences and the University of St. Thomas.”
“Texas Christian University and the Bob Schieffer College of Communication are very lucky to be getting Dr. Kris Bunton,” he added. “She will accomplish important things on their behalf.”