Southwestern Collection

In this edition of the "Southwestern Collection," we welcome the new president of the Texas State Historical Association, our new members of the Board of Directors, and our new Fellows. We want to congratulate the winners of our awards and fellowships, and to offer tribute to the members of our Association who passed on in 2009 by publishing our resolutions honoring them.

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly welcomes the new president of the Texas State Historical Association, Dianne Powell.

Dianne Powell brings a passion for Texas history and much business acumen to her position as President. She is president and owner of SellMark, a sales and marketing firm in San Antonio, and has more than twenty-five years experience in sales, marketing, and management positions in both nonprofit and for-profit industries. SellMark's nonprofit work includes projects with the Army Historical Foundation, the San Jacinto Museum of History Association, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin in association with the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

A native of Fort Worth, Dianne's interests include history, maps, and libraries. She participates in many historical, museum, and library organizations, including the Texas Map Society and the Texas State Historical Association.

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly would like to welcome seven new members to the Board of Directors of the Texas State Historical Association: Carlos Blanton, J. P. Bryan, Stephen C. Cook, Jeffrey D. Dunn, Benjamin Heber Johnson, John L. Nau III, and Rebecca Sharpless.

Carlos Blanton was born and raised in the town of Freer in Duval County. His parents, Lee and Belia, taught and still teach there with his sister Celina. His brother Lucas is a physician in Galveston. Carlos grew up hearing stories about life on the farm and the ranch, the days when South Texas was still a frontier, and how politics worked for people who did not have much. Carlos earned his bachelor's (1993) and master's (1995) degrees at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) and Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University-San Marcos) before their name changes and his doctorate at Rice University (1999). After spending two years teaching at the Chicano/Latino Studies program at Portland State University in Oregon, Carlos came to Texas A&M University in 2001, where his is now an Associate Professor of History and Assistant Department Head. Carlos is the author of The Strange Career of Bilingual Education in Texas, 1836-1981 (Texas A&M University Press, 2004), a book that won the TSHA's Tullis Prize. He has published articles in journals such as the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Journal of Southern History, Western Historical Quarterly, and Pacific Historical Review. His current project is a biography of the famed civil rights activist and educator Dr. George I. Sánchez of the University of Texas. H currently lives in College Station with his wife, Kristine, and his rambunctious two-year-old bundle of joy, Isabel.

The incoming president of the TSHA, Dianne G. Powell, is shown here with the previous president, Walter Buenger.

J. P. Bryan and his family have had years of involvement with the Texas State Historical Association and the history of Texas. His uncle Guy M. Bryan was a founder and secretary and served on the Board of Directors from 1897-1901. His father was President from 1965-67, and J. P. was President from 1982-83. J .P. has also served on Publications and Finance committees and chaired the Capital Campaign committee twice. He chaired two major fundraising events—the Texana Auction of the Decade in 1981 and the Gala in 2006. He served on the capital campaign effort with Chairman Ed Clark, which raised nearly $3 million to fund The New Handbook of Texas. Recently he raised $750,000 to fund the Chair in Texas History at University of North Texas, to which he and his wife were contributors. He has raised more funds for the TSHA than anyone...