Edward Munn Sanchez will join the Pierre Laclede Honors College on Aug. 1. (Photo by August Jennewein)

The University of Missouri–St. Louis has selected Edward Munn Sanchez, assistant dean for academic affairs and diversity at the University of South Carolina Honors College, to lead the Pierre Laclede Honors College.

(Photo courtesy of South Carolina Honors College)

Munn Sanchez will assume his new role as dean of the college on Aug. 1.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Munn Sanchez join our academic community,” UMSL Provost Kristin Sobolik said. “His qualifications and background are exceptional, and we look forward to working with him to continue our strong honors tradition and to build our alumni and donor engagement.”

Munn Sanchez has served as assistant dean for the SCHC since 2006. During those 12 years, he developed and implemented the SCHC curriculum of approximately 600 honors courses per year, managed the day-to-day operations and assisted with a recent $18 million capital campaign.

During his tenure, the college has enjoyed consistent top national rankings and a significant increase in enrollment, including a 69 percent leap from 2012 to 2017. Part of this growth is a result of the SCHC’s emphasis on the recruitment of minority, international and first-generation students. A native Spanish speaker and current diversity officer for SCHC, Munn Sanchez intends to bring the same focus to underserved populations in St. Louis.

“I love the idea of working in an urban university that sees the city of St Louis as its constituency,” Munn Sanchez said. “I’m looking forward to St. Louis. I had very good meetings with the staff and leadership of the university and am looking forward to working with them. But foremost is the students. I’m really looking forward to meeting and working with the students of the Pierre Laclede Honors College. What makes an honors college is the students, and I have already seen that UMSL students are a really creative group. I’m really looking forward to being a part of that creativity and their education.”

Munn Sanchez’s academic background is in philosophy, and he will be appointed as a teaching professor in UMSL’s Department of Philosophy. He earned his PhD and master’s degree from Emory University and completed his undergraduate work at Cornell College with an emphasis in history and Greek studies.

Prior to his time with the SCHC, Munn Sanchez worked as an assistant and visiting professor in the University of South Carolina’s philosophy department from 1995 to 2006. He’s also worked at the USC Nanocenter as a project coordinator and an ethics coordinator for the University of South Carolina’s College of Engineering and Information Technology.