After serving as Belo Distinguished Chair of Journalism for one year, Chris Peck will leave the SMU Division of Journalism to become editor of The Commercial Appeal, a mid-sized paper in Memphis, Tenn.

Journalism department faculty members said they did not know of Peck’s involvement in interviewing for or appointment to the position before an article in Wednesday’s Commercial Appeal announced the decision.

In an E-mail to journalism division faculty, Peck said he believes the new position is “better aligned with [his] talent and experience.”

“As a life-long newspaper editor, the chance to lead a newsroom in a major metro market is something I have thought about for a long time,” he wrote.

A search committee selected Peck for the Belo Chair Dec. 13, 2001, following a nationwide search and several months of interviews and candidate appraisals.

At the time of his appointment, Peck said he was drawn to the commitment of SMU and the Belo Foundation to build one of the leading journalism programs in the country.

“This is a rare opportunity to help a quality institution build a program that will serve students and the media at a critical juncture for journalism,” he said at the time of his appointment.

Peck began his duties as Belo Distinguished Chair in January.

Commercial Appeal CEO John Wilcox said the paper began searching for a new editor in August and had selected its final candidates a month ago. Peck accepted the editor position Monday.

Provost Ross Murfin said he did not know of an Endowed Chair who has ever left after such a short tenure.

“It’s highly, highly unusual,” Murfin said. “I think he knew what SMU was and what his job here would be.”

Peck said he has “enjoyed immensely working with the students.”

He said it was a difficult decision to leave, but that it is also an unusually good opportunity for him in Memphis. He said he hopes people will understand what a good offer he has received.

Belo Foundation President Judith Segura did not know of Peck’s decision before a phone call from The Daily Campus.

“You mean he’s already leaving campus,” she said. “He’s hardly had much time to have much of an effect on campus,” Segura said. “We’ll find someone who will come and stay and have an effect.”

The department’s momentum will continue despite Peck’s departure, said Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs in Meadows Dr. Greg Warden.

“A lot of what’s gone on this year has been thinking about the future – discussion of curricular change,” he said. “I think Chris was really fine-tuning things, but a lot of that was already in place thanks to Ralph Langer (the former journalism division chairman). Chris was just really getting going.”

Managing Director of Meadows Greg Brown said a new search committee will form immediately to fill the vacant chair. Although he cannot foresee how long the process will take, Brown said someone will be in place by the spring semester.

“There’s no way to tell whether there will not be (a permanent) chair (by the spring),” he said. “If not, we would have an interim chair, probably from the division itself. There’s never not a chair.”

In 2001, the Belo News Corporation placed a $2 million gift in a permanent endowment to establish the Belo Distinguished Chair position. The income from the endowment supplements the chair’s salary, making it attractive enough to entice and retain a strong leader.

“In terms of creating the chair, our objective was to have an endowment so they could attract a really outstanding person to become the chairman of the division of journalism,” Segura said. “An endowment enables that to happen, and they’ve done that once successfully – the first successful attempt just wasn’t very long-lasting, so we’ll hope for longer lasting success next time.”

Segura said she doesn’t think Peck’s departure will mar the chair’s reputation.

“I know it will not affect all the strength and enthusiasm of the division of journalism,” she said.

Wilcox said he thinks Peck realized that he liked being an editor more than working in academia.

“I think it’s not unusual for any high-level professional to say I’d like to try something else and realize it’s not as personally rewarding as he had expected and go back,” he said.

At SMU, reactions to the news of Peck’s departure were a mix of surprise, anger and disappointment.

Journalism professor Jayne Suhler said she’s pleased for Peck but disappointed to lose him.

“It would be hard for anybody to turn down the job,” she said. “I’m happy for him but saddened for the division. He won’t be able to see the opening of the new studio. It’s good for him, bad for us.”

Students who had high hopes for the journalism department under Peck feel abandoned as well.

“Professor Peck was such an outstanding resource for the SMU community,” senior broadcast journalism major Bettina Boateng said. “I’m a little bit crushed. He’s definitely one of the elite members that was going to lead SMU to be one of the most outstanding journalism schools in our region.”

Briana Barentine contributed to this article.