Meet the New Boss…Same as the Old Boss?

Things are about to get mighty interesting over at the University of Texas and, consequently, the Texas State Historical Association…

In a 2021 video series called The unMakers of Texas History, I profiled two powerful people in the world of Texas history. The first was Walter Buenger, chief historian of the Texas State Historical Association. The second was Daina Ramey Berry, head of the history department at the University of Texas (Austin.)

In that series, I explained how TSHA’s Handbook of Texas Online informs Wikipedia articles on an array of core Texas history topics and, with Buenger choosing which entries will be added and by whom they’ll be written or edited, that’s a detriment to honest Texas history. Why? Because Wikipedia is first in internet search results. While Wikipedia isn’t a valid research tool, it provides a thumbnail view of a topic and acts as a springboard.

In the same series, I explored some of Daina Berry’s woefully inaccurate and dishonest history projects, as well as her racialized history curriculum for 5th graders.

A year after our series was released, TSHA’s Buenger announced he would retire by 2024. Because of the academic affiliation agreement between TSHA and U. T., the head of U.T.’s history department is tasked with selecting candidates to replace Buenger. TSHA gets a vote (just one) on any candidate, while each faculty member of the history department gets a vote. I settled in for a long wait and kept my eye on the situation.

Who would Daina Ramey Berry choose to replace Buenger?

Summer Plot Twist:

Fast forward to early June 2022. University of California announced they’d chosen Daina Ramey Berry as dean of the humanities department at UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Berry announced the move herself a few weeks later.

So where do we stand now? Is this a net gain or loss?

Well, Berry’s replacement - an unknown quantity as of the time of this writing - will choose Buenger’s replacement at TSHA. Berry begins her new job in California (her home turf, if you were curious) in September, so U. T. is no doubt in search mode as I type this. The professor they select, though he/she may have no interest in Texas history, has the power to chart the future course of the Texas State Historical Association.

I don’t hold out much hope for U. T. choosing a candidate that most Texans will find palatable. I do, however, hope that TSHA will pare down the duties of their chief historian to that of an advisory role. That was how the position was originally structured and rebooting the job is the best chance TSHA has of regaining the public’s trust.