Dr. Gene Preuss

Degrees Earned

Ph.D. from Texas Tech University 2004

MA in History at Texas State University 1993

BA in History at Texas State University 1990

Courses Taught

Undergraduate Courses

HIST 1305 United States History to 1877

HIST 1306 United States History after 1877

HIST 2315 Introduction to World History I

HIST 2316 Introduction to World History II

HIST 1312 Texas History

HIST 1314 Ethnic Minorities in American History

HIST 3301 20th Century Europe

HIST 3309 20th Century England

HIST 3312 Reading and Writing In Texas History

HIST 3314 The Civil War and Reconstruction

HIST 3322 Mexican-American History

HIST 3323 African-American History

HIST 3340 History of Religion in the United States

HIST 3360 History of the American West

HIST 3390 Historical Methods

HIST 4305 History of the New South

HIST 4370 History of Education in the United States

Graduate Courses

HIST 5311 Studies in the History of American Education

HIST 5321 Studies in Mexican-American History

HIST 5331 Historians and the "Culture Wars"

HIST 6301 Seminar in Modern European History

HIST 6302 Seminar in US History

HIST 6303 Seminar in Texas History

Experience Qualifications

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

• Associate Professor of History, UHD, 2010 - Present
• Assistant Professor of History, UHD, 2004 - 2010
• Adjunct Professor, Texas Southern University, 2003 - 2006
• Adjunct History Instructor, CyFair College and Fairbanks Campus, Lone Star College, 2002 - 2004
• Part-Time Graduate Instructor, Texas Tech University, 1995 - 1999

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Southwest Museum Services, Houston, TX, Project Manager, 2001 - 2003
• Independent Petroleum Landman, 2001 - 2004
• Student Intern, Lyndon Baines Johnson Space Center Oral History Project, NASA, Summer 1999
• Student Assistant, Southwest Collection/Special Collection Library, Texas Tech University, 1995 - 1998
• History Tutor, Student Learning Assistance Center, Texas State University-San Marcos, 1992 - 1994

Preuss' research focuses on the history of public education in Texas. He has published articles in the East Texas Historical Journal, West Texas Historical Association Yearbook, Journal of South Texas, and Sound Historian: Journal of the Texas Oral History Association, and Touchstone, Journal of the Walter Prescott Webb Historical Society. He co-authored "Oral History, Folklore, and Katrina," with Alan H. Stein, in There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster: Race, Class, and Hurricane Katrina, Chester Hartman and Gregory D. Squires, eds. (Routledge, 2006), and in Seeking Higher Ground: The Hurricane Katrina Crisis, Race, and Public Policy Reader, Manning Marable and Kristen Clarke, eds. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). He has contributed chapters on public education history in Texas in several books, Hidden History of the Llano Estacado, Paul H. Carlson and David J. Murrah, eds. (The History Press, 2017), The Presidents Speak: Addresses from the Leadership of the East Texas Historical Association, 2000 - 2016, Milton S. Jordan and Dan K. Utley, eds. (Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2017); Texan Identities: Moving Beyond Myth, Memory, and Fallacy in Texas History, Light Townsend Cummins and Mary L. Scheer, eds. (University of North Texas Press, 2016), West Texas: A History of the Giant Side of the State, Paul H. Carlson and Bruce A. Glasrud, eds. (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014); Politics and the History Curriculum: The Struggle over Standards in Texas and the Nation, Keith A. Erekson, ed. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); and Twentieth Century Texas: A Social and Cultural History, John Storey and Mary Kelley, eds. (University of North Texas Press, 2008).

His book, To Get a Better School System: One Hundred Years of School Reform in Texas" (Texas A&M University Press in 2009) won the East Texas Historical Association 2010 Ottis Lock book award, and was a Texas Institute of Letters Scholarly Book Award finalist. His most recent book was written with former US Secretary of Education and Texas Tech President, Lauro F. Cavazos, Jr., A Kineños Journey: On Family, Learning, and Public Service (Texas Tech University Press, 2016)

More Information

AWARDS/GRANTS

David C. DeBoe Memorial Award, Walter Prescott Webb Society Outstanding Chapter Advisor Award, 2018.

THECB Work Study Mentorship Program Award 2015-17 ($50,000)

Contributing Faculty, THECB Minority Male Initiative Grant, "Guided Pathways for Minority Male Achievement: A Standards-Based Proposal." ($99,592) 2015

Texas Social Studies Collaborative Advancing College and Career Readiness in Social Studies Grant: "Closing the Circle: Infusing Social Studies College and Career Readiness Standards into the Texas History Course" ($18,500)

Title V Project Co-PI, "Project Star", 2012-2017 ($3,046,267).

East Texas Historical Association Otis Lock Award Educator of the Year, 2012.

Contributing Faculty, "Freshman Achievement Communities to Enhance Student Persistence and Success" submitted to the Comprehensive Student Success Program of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, January 2011. Funded June 2011 ($260,000).

Contributing Faculty, Gear-Up Grant submission, 2011.

Oral History Association Article Award, 2010.

East Texas Historical Association Otis Lock Endowment Award Best Book on East Texas History, 2010.

Finalist, Texas Institute of Letters Award for Scholarly Book, 2010.

Achieving the Dream Grant, 2007-2011 ($400,000).

Editorials/Media Appearances/Interviews

Corbett Smith, "Why Do Cities, Counties and School Districts Have Wacky Boundaries? Curious Texas Brings the History," Dallas Morning News, April 19, 2018, https://www.dallasnews.com/life/curious-texas/2018/04/19/cities-counties-school-districts-wacky-boundaries-curious-texas-brings-history.

"The Civil Engagement of Youth in Houston," League of Women Voters of the Houston Area Public Affairs Public Access program, April 5, 2018, https://youtu.be/ME1dpl4FEWE.

"Trump Administration Adding Citizenship Question to 2020 Census," interview by Isiah Carey, The Isiah Factor, KRIV FOX26 Houston, March 28, 2018, https://www.fox26houston.com/news/trump-administration-adding-citizenship-question-to-2020-census.

"Preserving a Piece of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement", interview by Isiah Carey, The Isiah Factor, KRIV FOX26 Houston, March 7, 2018, https://www.fox26houston.com/news/preserving-a-piece-of-the-mexican-american-civil-rights-movement.

Nicole Acevedo, "LULAC's Historic Texas Clubhouse, a Hub of Latino Civil Rights, Designated National Treasure," NBC News, January 30, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/lulac-s-historic-texas-clubhouse-hub-latino-civil-rights-designated-n842721.

"Fixated With the Confederacy", interview by Isiah Carey, The Isiah Factor, KRIV FOX26 Houston, January 27, 2018, https://youtu.be/VyyyAdApIoM.

"We Know What Confederate Symbols Mean. Why Keep Them?," Houston Chronicle, November 20, 2017, http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/We-know-what-Confederate-symbols-mean-Why-keep-12371434.php.

Gene Preuss and Scott Sonenshein, "Major Paradigm Shifts In Houston," interview by Daniel Cohen, Houston Matters, Houston Public Media, KUHF News 88.7, August 14, 2017, https://soundcloud.com/houstonmatters/houstons-response-to-charlottesville-major-paradigm-shifts-in-houstons-aug-14-2017.

"A Historical Perspective on a Monumental Issue," interview by Matt Dougherty, 6 pm News, KHOU, August 16, 2017, http://www.khou.com/news/local/a-historical-perspective-on-a-monumental-issue/464946750">http://www.khou.com/news/local/a-historical-perspective-on-a-monumental-issue/464946750.

"Why We Should Study LGBTQ Topics When We Study History," Houston Chronicle, July 10, 2017, http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Why-we-should-study-LGBTQ-topics-when-we-study-11277235.php?cmpid=gsa-chron-result.

"How Should Texas High Schoolers Learn History?" Houston Chronicle, May 19, 2017, http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/How-should-Texas-high-schoolers-learn-history-11159428.php?cmpid=gsa-chron-result.

"Students Required to Pass the US Citizenship Test Before Graduating High School," interview by Erik Barajas, Community Close Up: ¡Viva Houston!, ABC13, KTRK-TV, June 1, 2017, http://abc13.com/society/students-required-to-pass-the-us-citizenship-test-before-graduation-/2060961/.

"Donald Trump's Victory in the 2016 Election and the Hispanic Community," interview by Erik Barajas, Community Close Up: ¡Viva Houston!, ABC13, KTRK-TV, November 27, 2016, http://abc13.com/society/abc13-viva-houston-11-27-16/1631550/.

"Caprock Chronicles: Cavazos is First Mexican-American Texas Tech President," Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, October 29, 2016, http://www.lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2016-10-29/caprock-chronicles-cavazos-first-mexican-american-texas-tech-president. Reprinted as "Lauro Cavazos of Texas Tech," in Hidden History of the Llano Estacado, edited by Paul H. Carlson and David J. Murrah, 124 - 126. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2017.

"Mexican American History Textbook Controversy," interview by Erik Barajas, Community Close Up: ¡Viva Houston!, ABC13, KTRK-TV, September 18, 2016, http://abc13.com/society/viva-houston-sunday-september-18-2016/1521260/.

Julie Chang, "Confederate Names on Austin Schools Date Back to Civil Rights Movement," Austin American Statesman, July 19, 2015, https://www.statesman.com/NEWS/20160923/Confederate-names-on-Austin-schools-date-back-to-civil-rights-movement.

Blutman, "Should All Symbols of the Confederacy Be Removed?", Newsfix, CW39, KIAH Houston, June 22, 2015, http://cw39.com/2015/06/22/should-all-symbols-of-the-confederacy-be-removed/.