As the University approaches a milestone enrollment nearing 4,000 students, it is strengthening its academic foundation to support and sustain that growth.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Cindy Martin recently announced a comprehensive reorganization of the university’s academic structure, creating three new colleges, establishing new layers of academic leadership, and investing in the programs and people that help students thrive.
A New College Structure
College of Business and STEM
Where innovation meets opportunity
Dean
Martha Cruz Zuniga
Associate Dean
Tikhon Bykov
This college unites business, computer science, mathematics, and the natural sciences to prepare students for high-demand careers at the intersection of technology, business, scientific discovery, and innovation.
College of Health and Behavioral Sciences
Preparing the next generation of health professionals
Dean
Marcia Straughn
Associate Dean
Tim Dunn
Home to nursing, kinesiology, and psychology, this college prepares students to serve others through careers in healthcare, human performance, and behavioral science.
College of Liberal Arts and Education
Forming thoughtful, creative, and engaged leaders
Dean
Mark Waters
Associate Dean
David Amlung
From the arts and communication to education, the social sciences, and the humanities, this college prepares students to understand people, ideas, and cultures while building skills that apply across a wide range of careers.
At the heart of the academic reorganization are three newly formed colleges, each led by a dean and associate dean and each bringing together a family of related disciplines under shared, focused leadership.
The College of Business and STEM unites business, computer science, mathematics, physics, and the natural sciences, grouping programs at the forefront of innovation and workforce demand. The College of Health and Behavioral Sciences brings together nursing, kinesiology, psychology, and human health science, preparing students for careers in service to others. The College of Liberal Arts and Education draws together the broadest range of disciplines, including the arts, communication, education, the social sciences, and the humanities to cultivate graduates who think critically, communicate clearly, and lead with purpose.
The goals driving this reorganization are both operational and aspirational: enhancing institutional efficiency, ensuring equity in leadership responsibilities, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and supporting strategic growth. That last goal encompasses student retention, the development of 21st-century career skills, and the intentional expansion of McMurry’s academic portfolio into emerging fields.
Each dean will carry a broad mandate: overseeing faculty development, driving student success initiatives, ensuring accreditation compliance, and representing the university to external partners including donors, community organizations, and employers. An Academic Cabinet and a Deans Council will provide coordinated institutional leadership across all three colleges, ensuring that academic strategy remains cohesive and aligned with McMurry’s broader mission.
“McMurry has always been a place where students are known by name, challenged to grow, and prepared to lead. Everything we do, how we organize our programs, how we invest in our people, how we show up for our students every day, is in service of that promise. That is the McMurry difference, and it is what drives us forward.”
Dr. Lynne MurrayInvesting in Student Success
Coaching, Outreach, Resilience, Engagement
Experiential learning, Discovery, Graduate pathways, Employment
Lead, Empower, Advocate, Discern
Running alongside the new college structure is a deliberate investment in the people and programs that support students from their first semester to their first job. Student support and career readiness are distinct institutional priorities, and the promotion of Dr. Jori Sechrist to associate vice president for academic affairs, institutional effectiveness, and student success is a clear signal of that commitment.
As a McMurry alumna (Class of 2001), longtime faculty member, and director of institutional effectiveness, Dr. Sechrist will lead an institutional task force for retention, coordinating a data-informed, cross-campus effort to strengthen student persistence and completion.
Much of this work takes place through War Hawk Success, McMurry’s framework for student support. Through CORE, EDGE, and LEAD, students have access to coordinated resources and opportunities throughout their time at McMurry.
The CORE program (Coaching, Outreach, Resilience, Engagement) provides one-on-one success coaching, builds executive functioning skills, and coordinates the university’s early alert systems to connect students with help before small struggles become larger ones. The EDGE program (Experiential learning, Discovery, Graduate pathways, Employment) bridges classroom and career through tutoring, supplemental instruction, internships, discovery trips, and workshops designed to build the skills employers most value. The LEAD Program (Lead, Empower, Advocate, Discern) helps students build community, discover opportunities for involvement, and develop the leadership skills to make an impact on campus and beyond, through service opportunities and dedicated leadership development programs.
“When you look at the new college structure alongside the investments we are making in student success, you see students at the center of everything we do. We are building an institution where every student is supported from the day they arrive, challenged to grow, and prepared to make their mark in the world.”
Dr. Cindy Martin