After 22 years at St. Thomas, Kris Bunton, the associate dean of the college of arts and sciences, feels bittersweet and excited about moving on to the next chapter of her professional life.

Bunton is leaving St. Thomas July 1 to begin her new position at Texas Christian University as dean of the Bob Schieffer College of Communication.

“I’m sad to leave St. Thomas, but I’m very excited for the new opportunity,” Bunton said.

Bunton has played an important role in the communication and journalism department over the years and was among the faculty responsible for the creation of TommieMedia, this very website. Bunton worked as a faculty adviser for TommieMedia until 2011 and helped combine the communication studies and journalism & mass communication departments.

“I have had lot of wonderful opportunities here. I was the department chair, I got to create a new department, create TommieMedia and then come over to the dean’s office and help work on an even broader scale,” Bunton said.

Bunton remains humble, however, and said she owes a lot to the people and the students she has worked with.

“Mike O’Donnell and I came up with the idea (for TommieMedia) … and we couldn’t have done it without a magnificent group of students. The students those first two years were really strong leaders and pioneers who really excelled,” Bunton said.

Bunton never completely gave up teaching, even after moving up to the position of associate dean in 2011. She remained a capstone professor for COJO majors gearing up for the ethics bowl.

Before graduation every COJO senior must compete in the ethics bowl, a competition that tests the daily ethical interpretations made by professionals in the communication and journalism field.

“The ethics bowl is important because it’s about doing ethics,” Bunton said. “Some people teach ethics by having students write papers and read things and think about them at a distance, and we have students put it all together and do the ethical thinking and the ethical reasoning.”

The ethics bowl took place May 9, and for the first time in five years Bunton’s students did not win.

“I lost this year. Went down after five years in a row,” Bunton said. “But really, ethics is so important. It involves real-world cases and questions your analysis and perspectives. It’s much more like what would happen to you in the real world.”

Ethics is Bunton’s favorite aspect of teaching communication and journalism.

“Whatever I’ve done at St. Thomas has been aimed at helping students prepare for life as ethical leaders,” Bunton said. “It’s not just about acquiring knowledge, but using that knowledge in responsible ways.”

Bunton’s influence is evident in the passion and drive of her students. Senior Kelsey Braski was a student in Bunton’s ethics course this semester and said that although Bunton was a tough professor, she felt the challenge helped better prepare her for the workforce.

“She is someone who challenges students in class about our ideas or thoughts, but in a way to make us learn a greater lesson,” Braski said. “I know in the future I will be challenged, and it was awesome to have a taste of it in the classroom where I could learn from the situation.”

These challenges led Braski to feel strongly about ethics and morality as she prepares for a professional career outside of college.

“One thing she told us … was to not sell out. I want to make sure I have the confidence to voice my position on issues I see … this is something I don’t think I would feel as strongly about if I didn’t have Dr. Bunton’s class,” Braski said.

Reflecting on her 22 years of employment at St. Thomas, Bunton has only positive remarks about her time spent here.

“I’ve been really blessed, I’m going to be sad to leave behind the people. I’ve worked with wonderful colleagues in every level of my career,” Bunton said. “It’s not about about the bricks and mortar of these lovely buildings, it’s about the people who spend their lives trying to help students.”

Her advice to any young COJO student is to work hard, take advantage of every opportunity and use the power of communication to spread common good and positively change the world.

“For those who much has been given, much is expected. And the students have been given a gift here at St. Thomas,” Bunton said.

Whitney Oachs can be reached at oach5325@stthomas.edu.