BY KATHY WILLIAMS
HERALD DEMOCRAT
Dr. Light Cummins, Austin College professor of history, will become the official Texas state historian. The Governor's Office announced Cummins' appointment Tuesday.
"This is an honorific position," Cummins said Tuesday, and added in the dry wit his students say brings history alive for them, "I will continue to bother Austin College on a daily basis."
The appointment also is a real testimony to Austin College, he said. This is the first time a state historian is a faculty member of a liberal arts college and not a major institution that grants doctoral degrees.
The Texas Legislature created the position, which carries a two-year term, both to honor a historian of Texas and to have the occupant advance the cause of Texas history across the state. In essence, Cummins will serve as an ambassador for the study of history, a bridge of advocacy between the now and the past.
He said the position will involve a lot of travel around the state to speak and help various educational and historical organizations as a consultant.
"Specifically, the act that created this position asks the occupant to assist and support the teaching of Texas history in Texas schools, which I already do," Cummins said. It also connects him in a leadership role to the Texas Historical Commission, Texas State Preservation Board and the Texas Historical Association, on whose board he currently serves.
"When matters come up concerning state archives regarding historic preservation of Texas as previous occupants have been, I will be consulted.
"It's a nice way to have a visibility for the teaching and preservation of Texas history," Cummins said. "There are hundreds of organizations out there that promote the study of Texas history and this is a way to coordinate that."
His most recent predecessor, Jesus de la Teja, was from Austin and thus had to travel less.
"I'm very proud and honored," Cummins said, when prodded to give his personal reaction. "I think in my career here at Austin College, I've worked to advance the Texas history.
"We've produced a lot of good Texas historians here. ... I can think of half a dozen Texas history professors at other colleges and universities that were Austin College undergraduates, so I think it's a real reaffirmation of what has been happening here at Austin College. We have the Center for Southwestern and Mexican studies which is involved in a wide variety of programs that support Texas history and I think my appointment as Texas historian is a reflection of the value of that program."
Cummins said in a note, "The official historian of the state of Texas is a non-political, completely non-partisan position that seeks to honor Texas history and charge that person with furthering and enhancing the study of Texas history."
The Governor's Office announced Tuesday, "Gov. Rick Perry has named Light Townsend Cummins of Sherman Texas State Historian. He retains this designation for two years from the day of the honoring ceremony (which Cummins said will be later this month.)
"Cummins is an author, history professor and director of the Center for Southwestern and Mexican Studies at Austin College in Sherman. He is a board member of the Texas State Historical Association and an associate of the Danforth Foundation. He is also past chair of the Grayson County Historical Commission and a member of Humanities Texas. Cummins received a bachelor's degree from Texas State University and a doctorate degree in history from Tulane University."