Southwestern Collection

This issue marks a big change for the Southwestern Historical Quarterly and the Texas State Historical Association. Walter L. Buenger has become the editor of the journal and the Chief Historian of TSHA, succeeding Randolph B. “Mike” Campbell in both positions. In the following pages, we offer a fond farewell to Mike and a hearty welcome to Walter. As usual for the July issue of the Quarterly, we will also report some of the significant news from TSHA’s recent Annual Meeting.

At left: Randolph B. “Mike” Campbell, Chief Historian of the Texas State Historical Association, 2008–2017, and editor of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 2005–2017. At right, Walter L. Buenger, who holds both positions as of July 1, 2017.

Farewell and Welcome

My service as editor of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly began with Number 1 of Volume 109 in July 2005 and ended with Number 4 of Volume 120 in April 2017—twelve volumes in twelve years. (I love symmetry.) I cannot list the names of everyone who assisted in the publication of all those issues, so let me recognize groups and then turn to individuals. First, literally hundreds of scholars in Texas history have given their time and energy to serve as readers for manuscripts received by the Quarterly. Second, members of the Editorial Advisory Board have consistently supported every aspect of our work. Third, those who directed the book review section over the twelve years—Frank de la Teja, Rick McCaslin, and Nancy Baker Jones—have done the kind of job any editor loves; that is, providing the reviews on time without my having to think about it. Finally, there is Ryan Schumacher, who has served as associate and then managing editor for eight years. Ryan, from the beginning, worked as my partner. We jointly approved all correspondence and made all publication decisions. Ryan then took responsibility for the myriad details of moving the Quarterly from manuscript pages to a finished scholarly journal. I have said many times that I could not edit the Quarterly without Ryan. I’ll repeat it here one more time. Thank you, Ryan.

The Texas State Historical Association appointed me as its first Chief Historian in 2008 with the task of overseeing the “scholarly content” of all TSHA activities. The responsibilities included in that charge are far too numerous to list here; in fact, they seem to have no end. Some have said, perhaps with a grain of truth, that the expansion of the Chief Historian’s duties is my own fault. In any case, my friend of many years Walter Buenger is more than capable of handling them. Walter is a proven historian/scholar who is ideally suited for Chief Historian. I was honored to serve in the position, and I am especially honored that Walter is my successor.—Randolph B. “Mike” Campbell

Randolph B. “Mike” Campbell edited volumes 109 through 120 of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly. Truth be told he edited this issue (no. 1) of volume 121 as well, but he refused to put his name on it out of an obsession with orderliness. The readers of the Quarterly benefitted from Mike’s other obsessions for achieving accuracy, clarity, and relevance to the historical dialogue, just to name a few. Through it all Mike displayed a patience and a care for developing the skills of emerging historians that served us well. His gentle prodding to state a clear argument that addressed a significant historical question helped polish most of the articles that appeared in the last twelve volumes. I can only hope to do as well.

In 2008, a few years after becoming editor of the Quarterly, Mike became the first Chief Historian of the Texas State Historical Association. As such he oversaw the Handbook of Texas Online, ensured the scholarly merit of the annual meeting program, helped with the Texas Almanac, and in general made sure that the TSHA as a whole remained as accurate, clear, and relevant to the conversation about the past as the Quarterly. He reminded us all that at its core the TSHA is dedicated...