VPAA Announcement

We do great things as a community when we come together, hear each other, work hard, pray, and act boldly. The Call Toward Tomorrow is one example of such dialogue and encounter. Our collective vision for UST’s future is indeed bold and we are moving to realize it.

The search for our next Vice President for Academic Affairs is another example of UST’s collaborative way. The Search Committee performed its work with diligence, diversity of thought, and dialogue. I have already thanked them for their months of service and I encourage you to thank them too. Most of our UST community read CVs, attended interviews and community gatherings, provided input, and prayed. Thank you! Together we disputed, shared ideas (even conspiracies), and ultimately came together. I am particularly pleased to share with you the substantial coalescing of opinion from all inputs centered on one candidate. Discussions with that candidate revealed an even stronger alignment of the candidate and our collective hope for and belief in our mission, people, and future. I am honored to announce that Dr. Christopher Paul Evans has accepted our offer to serve as Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Dr. Evans has served the University well since 2007 as a member of the faculty, chair of the Theology Department, Associate Dean in the School of Arts and Sciences and most recently, since 2016, as Dean of the School for Arts and Sciences. Prior to joining UST, he served as a faculty member in the Theology Department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. He earned his doctorate in Historical Theology at Saint Louis University, his Master’s Degree at the University of Dallas, and his undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies at Dallas Baptist University.

I look forward to working with Dr. Evans as part of our team in this new role. His experience and talents will serve us well as we move toward tomorrow. We are a community of great faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends. Together, we will realize UST’s extraordinary potential.

Please join me in congratulating and thanking Dr. Poldi Tschirch for her outstanding service as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs. Her efforts have set a sound foundation for this new era of collaborative leadership.

We praise the Holy Spirit for guidance during this discernment and call on the intercessions of St. Thomas Aquinas and our Holy Mother as we move boldly forward!