Support History at Texas State

The Alton Brieger Endowed Scholarship in History was established by his friends at Texas State in recognition of his twenty years of service to the university as Registrar, Dean of Student and Academic Services, and Associate Professor of History. Students applying for the scholarship must be advanced History undergraduate majors who have completed 30 credit hours at Texas State. Additional support for this endowment will allow an increase of award amounts.

Need: This scholarship endowment, as in the case of many others, has not kept up with the increasing costs of higher education.  Your contribution will allow the size of annual scholarships to increase in the future.

After serving more than forty years (1962-2003) as a member of the faculty and a term as Graduate Advisor in the Department of History, Bill Liddle and his wife Lois established an endowed Graduate Fellowship in History to support graduate students pursuing an advanced degree in history. This competitive fellowship provides a stipend to Graduate Instructional Assistants, who have the opportunity to teach their own discussion sections in our undergraduate history surveys. 

Need: This scholarship endowment, as in the case of many others, has not kept up with the increasing costs of higher education. Your contribution will allow the department to provide increased funding to our most promising MA students. 

The Brown Endowed Award in Thesis Development was created in 2023 to honor the Brown family’s commitment to graduate education. The award supports students pursuing research for their MA thesis that requires international travel or travel at least 500 miles from San Marcos. The award promises to support some of the most innovative and ambitious thesis research in the department.

Need: This endowment has not yet reached the threshold for the awarding of a scholarship. Graduate education is both expensive and time-consuming. Your contribution would allow the department to begin rewarding its ablest graduate students with a substantial scholarship opportunity.

In 1990 Martha Luan Brunson, with the support of her son John, established the B.R. Brunson Memorial Endowment, in memory of her husband, who served on the history faculty from 1965 to 1988. The focus of this endowment is to provide full a scholarship for a graduate student seeking an advanced degree in History.

Need: This scholarship endowment, as in the case of many others, has not kept up with the increasing costs of higher education.  Your contribution will allow the size of annual scholarships to increase in the future.

To encourage the study of History and International Studies, Professor of History and Director of International Studies at Texas State Dennis Dunn and his wife Margaret, established this endowed scholarship to benefit either an incoming freshman or a continuing student with a declared major in History or International Studies. 

Need: This scholarship endowment, as in the case of many others, has not kept up with the increasing costs of higher education.  Your contribution will allow the size of annual scholarships to increase in the future.

Members of the Department of History established this scholarship endowment in memory of three of their most respected and appreciated colleagues: Merry Fitzpatrick and Charles "Booty" Clayton, both former history faculty and student teacher supervisors; and Betty Kissler, former department chair, Professor of History, student teacher supervisor and President of the Faculty Senate. These scholarships support the educational needs of future secondary school teachers. 

Need: This scholarship endowment, as in the case of many others, has not kept up with the increasing costs of higher education.  Your contribution will allow the size of annual scholarships to increase in the future.

The James W. Pohl Scholarship was created by Dr. James and Mrs. Patsy Pohl in 2011 to honor the legacy of Dr. Pohl’s contributions to the Department of History and its graduate program. Dr. Pohl began teaching at Southwest Texas State College in 1964 and served as an award-winning and exceptionally popular instructor, as well as a productive scholar and valued colleague, until his retirement in 2011. The Department awards the Pohl Scholarship each semester through a competitive process to the student whose MA thesis prospectus shows the greatest promise. 

Need: This scholarship endowment, as in the case of many others, has not kept up with the increasing costs of higher education. Your contribution will allow the size or number of annual scholarships to increase in the future.

Kent Finlay graduated from the then Southwest Texas State College in 1961 with a bachelor of science degree in education and completed a master’s degree in 1964. A decade later, he opened Cheatham Street Warehouse, a live music venue in San Marcos, with a mission to nurture and inspire a broad group of musicians and songwriters, many of whom have gone on to well respected careers around the world, from George Strait to Randy Rogers and beyond. Friends and family created the scholarship to honor his legacy by supporting students of Texas music history, a subject he taught in popular classes in the Texas State Department of History.

Texas State alum Tommy Foote was the original drummer in the San Marcos-born Ace in the Hole Band and served as George Strait's tour manager for over four decades. He was a devoted supporter of Texas artists and students, leading friends and family to establish this award in his name. The Tommy Foote Memorial Scholarship in Texas Music History will be awarded to Texas State University students in the College of Liberal Arts who are studying Texas music history or to students who are members of Bobcat Country, a student ensemble dedicated to celebrating Texas heritage through performances of both classical and contemporary country music. 

In 2019, the Summerfield G. Roberts Foundation established the Summerfield G. Roberts Scholarship in Public History to support the scholarship and professional development of public history graduate students at Texas State University. These scholarships are critical to the success of students in one of the department’s most dynamic areas of growth. 

Need: This scholarship endowment, as in the case of many others, has not kept up with the increasing costs of higher education. Your contribution will allow the size or number of annual scholarships to increase in the future.

The Taylor-Murphy Scholarship was created in honor of former history professors James Taylor, who also served between 1946 and 1962 as chairman of what was then the Department of Social Sciences, and Rheta Murphy, who taught between 1919 and 1957 and was the first female faculty member in the department with a Ph.D. degree. The Department of History’s scholarships and awards committee identifies a student whose achievement and future potential in history are worthy of support.

Need: This scholarship endowment, as in the case of many others, has not kept up with the increasing costs of higher education. Your contribution will allow the size of annual scholarships to increase in the future.

Former History Department chairman, Faculty Senator, and Special Assistant to the President Ev Swinney, along with his wife Donna, established this endowment to support the research of senior faculty in the Department of History. 

Need: The faculty members of the department of history are among the most active scholars at Texas State University, producing historical scholarship of a quality, and quantity, that compares to any history department of its size nationally. The costs of archival research, oral histories, and digital history increase constantly. Your donation will help meet the ever-growing needs of our scholars and support their pathbreaking work. 

Texas State University has long been a beneficiary of the generosity of the Ingram family. In 1990 Callie Ingram established an endowment in her name and that of her husband to fund a professorship in History. Proceeds from this endowment provide research support for the holder of the professorship, who must be a full professor in History carrying out a significant research project during his or her three-year tenure as Ingram Professor.

Need: As the costs of conducting a large multi-year research project continue to rise, your contribution will allow the size of the research award portion of the professorship to increase.