Walter Louis Buenger (born January 19, 1951) is a
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
and the
American South and, since 2017, is a professor of history at the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
in
Austin, Texas.
Background
Buenger received all three of his degrees,
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
,
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...
, and
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
, from
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...
in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
in 1973, 1977, and 1979, respectively. Immediately thereafter at the age of twenty-eight, he joined the history faculty at
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
. He became head of the History department in 2002 and remained there until 2017 when he accepted the position of Summerlee Foundation Chair in Texas History at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...
. Simultaneously, he became the Chief Historian at the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), and became editor of the TSHA journal ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly''.
Scholarly pursuits
Buenger's 2001 book ''The Path to a Modern South: Northeast Texas Between Reconstruction and the Great Depression'' was awarded the Coral H. Tullis Award, given annually to a book that focuses on Texas. He is a fellow, past president (2009–2010) and current Chief Historian of the
Texas State Historical Association
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of ...
.
Comments on Texas History Curriculum Controversy
In September 2018, it was announced that a work group tasked with advising the State Board of Education on social studies curriculum revisions had proposed that educators refrain from calling defenders of
The Alamo as "heroic" The recommendation drew the ire of
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Greg Abbott
Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 ...
, a candidate for re-election in the November 6 general, who urged voters to express opposition to the proposal to their district member on the Texas Board of Education. The recommendation was among several hundred additions, deletions, and tweaks offered by the advisory the panel. The committee said "heroic" is "a value(s)-charged word." Buenger said that he could understand why the word 'heroic' is divisive: "Many times the Alamo gets boiled down, as it often does in movies, to the Mexicans are the bad guys and the good guys are good Anglos in coonskin caps." He noted that at least six Mexicans, calling themselves Texians, fought with the American defenders: "Part of the problem with the word heroic may be that it's too simplistic," Buenger added. After public hearings were conducted, the Board of Education voted to amend the Texas history curriculum to refer "to the heroism of the diverse defenders who gave their lives" at the Alamo.
Family
Walter is married to Vickie Luquette Buenger who retired from her academic appointment as Clinical Professor of Management in the Mays Business School Department at Texas A&M University in 2022. The Buenger family is of German descent.
The Buengers, who have homes in Bryan, Texas and
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, have a son, Carl Davis Buenger (born ca. 1988), who graduated from Rice University in 2010 with a
mathematics degree in 2010 and from the Ohio State University with a PhD in Mathematics in 2016. Their daughter, Erin Channing Buenger, died in 2009 of
neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma (NB) is a type of cancer that forms in certain types of nerve tissue. It most frequently starts from one of the adrenal glands but can also develop in the neck, chest, abdomen, or spine. Symptoms may include bone pain, a lump in th ...
pediatric
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
at the age of eleven. Former
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Chet Edwards, a Buenger family friend, co-sponsored a successful bill to earmark $150 million toward a cure for neuroblastoma and other cancers. The measure was signed into law by
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in July 2008.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buenger, Walter L.
Presbyterians from Texas
Historians of Texas
1951 births
Living people
Rice University alumni
Texas A&M University faculty
People from Bryan, Texas
People from Fort Stockton, Texas
American people of German descent
Texas Democrats
20th-century American historians
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
American male non-fiction writers
Historians from Texas
University of Texas at Austin faculty
Texas State Historical Association presidents