Longtime Arkansas Tech faculty member Mary Gunter named interim chief of staff

Arkansas Tech University in Russellville has named longtime faculty member Dr. Mary Gunter as interim chief of staff in the ATU Office of the President, the university announced Thursday (Jan. 4).

Gunter, who joined the ATU faculty in 1998, assumed the position Jan. 2. She succeeds Dr. Jeff Mott, who was hired in September 2015 as the first chief of staff in the university’s history. He will leave the school later this year.

Gunter served as the ATU Graduate College dean since 2009 and the ATU College of Education dean since 2015. She is also a professor of educational leadership and the “driving force behind the design and implementation of the first doctoral program in Arkansas Tech history,” according to a university press release.

While Gunter is tending to the duties of chief of staff, Dr. Linda Bean will serve as interim dean for the College of Education, and Dr. Jeff Robertson will be interim dean for the Graduate College, in addition to continuing his role as dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences.

ATU will conduct searches this spring to fill the roles of chief of staff, dean of the College of Education and dean of the Graduate College, according to the press release.

“It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to assist our president, Dr. Robin E. Bowen, in the role of interim chief of staff,” Gunter said in the release. “As we continue to achieve the goals set forth in our strategic plan, we maintain a sharp focus on student success. I look forward to the opportunities this role will provide me to work on a broader basis with our educational partners, an opportunity made possible in part by the fact that we have leaders who are ready and willing to continue our work in the College of Education and the Graduate College.”

As interim chief of staff, Gunter will serve on the ATU Executive Council.

Mott will stay on during the spring 2018 semester to complete the current Leadership Tech year and provide for the sustainability of the program moving forward. Mott will leave the university by the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, according to ATU.

“I cannot sufficiently articulate how much Dr. Mott’s service in the role of chief of staff has assisted me,” Bowen said in the release. “His legacy here includes Leadership Tech, a program that will continue to provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff far beyond his final day with us. As Dr. Mott pursues the next step in his professional journey and seeks out opportunities that will allow him to be closer to his family on a more regular basis, I wish him the very best.”