AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin is welcoming the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) back to campus, where it was founded and operated for 108 years, to support the teaching and preservation of Texas history.
“One of the prime missions of a great research university is to help us understand ourselves and our place in the world. TSHA has long played a critical role in helping Texans preserve and better understand their past,” said UT Austin President Bill Powers.
“I’m glad to welcome home an organization that began when 10 scholars met on our campus in 1897, and I look forward to seeing how the university and the association collaborate and prosper from their mutual commitments to preserving and sharing Texas history,” Powers said.
The TSHA, the oldest learned society in the state, has been dedicated to the preservation, protection and promotion of Texas history for 118 years. Through this partnership, the TSHA will establish an endowed chair for a faculty member in UT Austin’s History Department. That faculty member will serve as the organization’s chief historian, responsible for working to ensure the highest academic standards for its programming and publications, which include the iconic Texas Almanac, The Handbook of Texas and The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, all of which are constantly updated and publicly accessible online.
UT Austin is providing space on campus for the TSHA staff, and the institutions will collaborate on many educational and outreach initiatives, such as Texas History Day, Junior Historians of Texas, and History Awareness workshops for Texas educators.
“Texas is one of the fastest growing and most written about states in the nation, making our role as the publishing and promoting Texas history more important than ever,” said TSHA President Lynn Denton. “Our affiliation with The University of Texas provides the ideal combination of academic excellence and global reach to reinforce a commitment to the preservation, promotion and protection of Texas history.”
Former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison added, “As a UT alum and a TSHA board member, I am proud to announce this partnership, which will ensure the authentic Texas story is captured and shared around the world.”
The TSHA returns to UT Austin following a successful seven-year affiliation with the University of North Texas. “The TSHA will be ever grateful for UNT’s hospitality, and we depart on extremely friendly terms, excited about the bright futures ahead for both of our great institutions,” said Denton.
