Russellville Mayor Randy Horton proclaimed Friday, Aug. 17, 2018, “Dr. Mary B. Gunter Appreciation Day” in the City of Russellville during a surprise event honoring Gunter for her lifetime of contributions to K-12 education.
Gunter became chief of staff in the Office of the President at Arkansas Tech University on May 1, 2018, marking a transition in a career that has benefited K-12 education in the Natural State for more than four decades.
A first-generation college graduate, Gunter spent 22 years as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and educational co-op director. She was also director of the Governor’s Partnership on Education before joining the ranks of higher education faculty in 1998.
“When Dr. Mary Gunter arrived at Arkansas Tech University, she thought she was just passing through,” said Dr. Robin E. Bowen, ATU president. “She arrived in Russellville with an ambitious, albeit limited scope assignment: develop and implement graduate programs designed to prepare K-12 school leaders. From that beginning point, Dr. Gunter not only achieved her initial charge…in many ways, she revolutionized what K-12 leadership means in Arkansas and produced a generation of innovative problem solvers…each of whom will proudly tell you they were ‘Gunterized’ on their way to achieving successful and meaningful careers in school administration.”
Gunter took on new leadership roles as her career at Tech progressed, adding the title of dean of the ATU Graduate College in 2009 and dean of the ATU College of Education in 2015.
Along the way, the evolution of the ATU Center for Leadership and Learning led to the development and implementation of the first doctoral degree in Arkansas Tech history. Gunter is the visionary behind the ATU Doctor of Education degree in school leadership, a program that produced Arkansas Tech’s first doctoral graduates in spring 2017.
Gunter has shared her expertise in the realm of leadership beyond the K-12 community. She was a member of the project development team and now serves as the director of Leadership Tech, a program designed to build leadership capacity and serve as professional development for faculty and staff at Arkansas Tech University. Leadership Tech Cohort I completed its program in spring 2018. The second and third cohorts of the program are active.
Her lifetime of service to education was recognized when she received the 2018 AdvancED Arkansas Excellence in Education Award.
“Now, she says this new venture as chief of staff marks a transition in her career,” said Bowen. “In many ways she is right. But all you have to do is attend one meeting led by Dr. Gunter and you will quickly understand that she will never miss a teachable moment. She is, and will always be, a practitioner of the transformative power of education, regardless of what her title might be.”
Photographed (from left-to-right): Randy Horton, mayor of Russellville; Dr. Robin E. Bowen, Arkansas Tech University president; Dr. Mary B. Gunter, chief of staff in the ATU Office of the President; Dr. Linda Bean, dean of the ATU College of Education; and Dr. Mark Gotcher, superintendent of the Russellville School District.
