Book Talk at the McKinney Public Library

Saturday I gave a book talk at the McKinney Public Library on Emily Austin of Texas, 1795-1851. An enthusiastic group attended and represented a good cross-section of attendees. Several of them were former Austin College students. It was a very rewarding experience to visit with them and learn about their activities since graduation. Several others who attended were very knowledgeable individuals who were very well versed in Texas history. It was also a very pleasant experince to be back at the McKinney Public Library were I have recently been doing a good bit of historical research. I also had the chance to sign several copies of my book for some of the attendees.

Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at the University of North Texas

Austin College Student Representatives

Phi Alpha Theta is the national honor society for students of history. Yesterday, eight Austin College students attended the 2009 regional Phi Alpha Theta Conference held on the campus of the University of North Texas at Denton. Over a hundred undergraduate and graduate students from over a dozen colleges and universities attended, reading papers and participating in the conference activities. The Austin College student participants were: Miranda Hernandez, David Loftice, Trang Ngo, Paige Rutherford, Joshua Pollock, Victoria Sheppard, William Weeks, and Jacqueline Welsh. Six students presented papers: David Loftice, Trang Ngo, Paige Rutherford, Joshua Pollock, Victoria Sheppard, and Jacqueline Welsh. As well, a paper by Elizabeth Elliott was read to her session although she was unable to attend the conference.

The Austin College Group at the Luncheon

Light Cummins, Victoria Cummins, and Jackie Moore also attended the conference as the History Department’s faculty representatives. A highlight of the meeting came during the prize presentations. Austin College junior Victoria L. Sheppard, a history major from El Dorado, Arkansas, won first prize for having the best undergraduate paper at the conference. (See above, Professor Denis Paz of UNT presents Ms.Sheppard with her First Prize Certificate.) This was a very competitive accomplishment since over sixty undergraduate students from over a dozen colleges and universities presented papers. The title of Ms. Sheppard’s prize winning paper was “Women, Marriage, and Singledom in the Nineteenth Century: The Emergence of a Conscious Choice.” She researched and wrote this paper in the History Department’s Historiographical and Research Methods Seminar during the fall semester of 2008.