Bunton to Retire as Dean of TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication
Floyd L. Wormley Jr., provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs, announced that Kristie Bunton will retire from her position as dean of TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication in May 2027, following 12 years of leadership in the position.
“This fall marks my 40th year as a faculty member or academic leader, and year 40 seems like a good time to ‘graduate,’” Bunton said. “Serving as dean of Schieffer College has been the honor of my career. I wanted to be a teacher-scholar dean, setting an example of academic leadership in which deans aren’t disconnected from faculty life, and I feel blessed that TCU made that possible for me.”
While dean, Bunton has taught 18 courses in communication and media ethics, and she wrote “Having Their Say: Athletes and Entertainers and the Ethics of Speaking Out.” The book was named a nationally outstanding academic title by academic librarians for its excellence in scholarship and its significant contribution as a first treatment of a subject.
As dean, Bunton managed growth, hiring more than half of Schieffer’s current faculty and staff. She oversaw remodeling projects that transformed classrooms, design and video editing labs, television and radio studios, a student newsroom and an advertising and public relations agency. She oversaw the creation of the Schieffer Media Insights Lab and its AI-driven digital media analysis tools. She instituted dean’s grants for faculty research. She supported faculty creation of a Schieffer Ph.D. program in communication and media, and a postbaccalaureate certificate program in digital media and audience analytics, both of which will launch in 2027.
Bunton earned a Ph.D. in communication ethics and law at Indiana University. She joined TCU in 2015 after serving as professor of communication and journalism, department chair and associate dean at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota’s largest private university.
Bunton considers it an honor to have worked personally with Schieffer College’s namesake.
“I didn’t know when I arrived at TCU what a joy it would be to get to know Bob Schieffer, not just as a legendary journalist but as a friend,” Bunton said. “I’m grateful for Bob and Pat Schieffer’s support of me in so many ways that helped me succeed as dean.”
The admiration is mutual.
“My name is on the building,” Schieffer ’59 said, “but it was Kris Bunton who molded the college into the institution that makes us all so proud.”
Wormley said Bunton’s leadership of the Schieffer College has been admirable and that she leaves a strong legacy for the college.
“Dean Bunton has created the Kristie Bunton Fund for the Study of Ethics, which will enhance teaching and research about ethical issues in communication and media,” he said. “By spring 2027, she will have sufficiently endowed the fund so that it can make its first grant to a faculty researcher in Schieffer. Dean Bunton will be missed, but her impact on future generations of students will continue.”
Korn Ferry will lead the search for the next dean of the Schieffer College, which will begin later this fall.
