Dr. Robert Tucker Named Dean of the HSU Kelley College of Business & Professional Studies

After an internal search that identified four strong candidates, Hardin-Simmons University is pleased to name Dr. Robert Tucker as the new dean for the Kelley College of Business and Professional Studies. Dr. Tucker served for 10 months as the interim dean of Kelley College while continuing to serve as dean of the College of Fine Arts.

Provost Chris McNair said, “We had a strong field of candidates, and Dr. Tucker’s experience and leadership in both business and education made him an ideal candidate to lead the newly expanded Kelley College of Business and Professional Studies.”

Dr. Tucker has 15 years’ experience at the dean level, serving at 2 universities in the areas of music and fine arts. With the reorganization of the university’s schools and colleges, Dr. Tucker will be devoting his full-time efforts to the growth and quality of Kelley College and its programs in business and education.

“I am both excited and deeply appreciative about this opportunity, and I look forward to continuing the excellent Hardin-Simmons tradition of preparing students for careers in business, education, and professional fields,” Dr. Tucker said. “We have outstanding professors who are highly qualified, dedicated, and uniquely skilled in their respective areas. I look forward to working with our faculty in advancing our College and educating students.  It is especially gratifying and humbling to serve the school and the community in this capacity.”

Dr. Tucker is uniquely qualified to head a college that encompasses disciplines in both business and education. He has extensive experience with accreditation, leading his school in two self-studies and participating in an on-site accreditation visit to a peer institution for HSU’s accreditation agency. His qualifications for business include a Master of Business Administration from Howard Payne University and all the coursework for a Doctor of Business Administration from Grand Canyon University, a degree he expects to complete in the current calendar year. His credentials in education include a Ph.D. in Music Education, long experience with programs in music education, five years’ teaching experience in the public schools, and service on the school board of Bangs ISD.

Dr. Tucker earned a Bachelor of Music from Hardin-Simmons University, a Master of Music from University of Cincinnati, a Doctor of Philosophy from Texas Tech University, and the M.B.A from Howard Payne University.

The author of the book Like a Crown: Adventures in Autism, he is deeply interested in the mission of HSU’s Houston-Lantrip Center for Literacy and Learning to serve autistic and dyslexic children. With more than 200 compositions and arrangements to his name, he continues to compose, play jazz and rock piano, conduct, lead music theatre productions, play French Horn, and speak on a wide variety of topics including autism, book collecting, church music, and history.