Graduation Brings Honor for A&M International Prof Dad and Son at UT-Arlington Exercise

Graduation days have always held special relevance for Texas A&M International University College of Business Administration faculty member Dr. Stephen Lunce. Usually, it's an opportunity to watch his students graduate.

This week, Dr. Lunce will find graduation takes on new meaning as he's been asked to provide the commencement address Saturday, May 12 for the University of Texas at Arlington...the very same graduation exercise that will see his son Stephen "Bear" Lunce II,graduate.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime event," Dr. Lunce said, "and something I never would have expected. It's a joy to see my son graduate and it's stunning to be the person who will deliver the commencement address for the Spring 2001 class at UT-Arlington, a University that holds cherished memories for me," he explained.

Lunce was notified of his selection earlier this year by Dr. Ruth V.

Gross, Dean, College of Liberal Arts and said he plans to share some personal and favorite philosophy with Spring graduates.

"I've got some favorite authors that I'm borrowing from, including some introduced to me by my late father. My presentation is titled 'Of Dreams and Challenges,' and I hope my message will be uplifting and celebratory, because this is one of the most important days in any college student's life," he explained.

Lunce's son "Bear", will receive his Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, with majors in music, management, technology and communications. He plans to pursue a career in entertainment management and hopes to perform as a electric bassist.

Lunce may be on stage for the proceedings, but he won't be alone. Wife Barbara Lunce, A&M International's registrar, will miss her first A&M International graduation to see her son graduate and her husband deliver his address.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," she noted, "they've both worked very long and very hard and I'm tremendously proud of them both,"

Dr. Lunce joined A&M International in 1992 after having served as adjunct professor of management information systems (M.I.S.) at the University of Dallas.

He earned his Ph.D. in business administration with a major in Information Systems, and minors in Computer Science and Research Methods from UT-Arlington. In addition, he holds both an M.B.A. with a concentration in M.I.S., and a B.A. in history from The University of Dallas. He is a Certified Computing Professional and a Certified Disaster Recovery Planner.

Lunce's primary fields of research include those in managerial issues concerning disaster recovery and contingency planing, deployment of technology in developing economies, A.I. applications in managerial decision-making, expertise and expert identifications, innovations in M.I.S. Education, strategic information utilization of information and historical perspectives of M.I.S.

His writings include over 60 publications in refereed journals, books, book chapters, refereed proceedings, reviews of journal articles and books, reviews of proceedings, and other publications.

At A&M International, he is professor of information systems and was recently elected vice president of the prestigious Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) for the southwest region.

He is faculty advisor to the Student Systems Group, the campus' Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) link. A&M International students recently competed at the Sixth Annual AITP national Conference in Chicago where they placed third in Systems Analysis and Design and fourth in Networking.

For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at 326.2180. University office hours are from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu