Skip to Content

Swinney, Everette

Everette Swinney

Biography

Dr. Everette Swinney (1933-2017) spent more than forty-eight years at Texas State University as a dedicated faculty member and administrator. A native of Lima, Ohio, Swinney received his BA from Ohio Northern University in 1954. He earned his MA from Pennsylvania State University in 1957 and his PhD from The University of Texas at Austin in 1966. He joined the faculty at Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1957.

Along with teaching a number of history courses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, Swinney served as chair of the Department of History from 1967-1980 and was appointed to a two-year term as assistant to the president by Dr. Jerome H. Supple in 1991.

Swinney served in the Faculty Senate for more than eighteen years, eight of which he spent as its chairman. He was the primary author and editor of the Faculty Handbook. In addition, Swinney's efforts made the university's Retired Faculty and Staff Association into a functioning, viable organization. He received the Honors Professor of the Year Award (1984), Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research (1987), and the Faculty Senate Excellence in Teaching Award (1991).

Swinney was designated a Distinguished Professor Emeritus by the Texas State University System Board of Regents after his retirement in 1997.

Texas 150 Oral History

Swinney talks about his upbringing in Ohio and higher education in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and finally at The University of Texas at Austin. Along with describing his family and participation in academic societies, Swinney discusses his writings on the 14th and 15th Amendments. He recalls his teaching experiences in the history department (specifically as chairman) and his recent  interest in developing software and teaching computer courses. He reflects on how student life has changed from the 1960s to the 1980s, noting the impacts of the principle of in loco parentis, student activism, computers, and the General Studies Program.

Transcript icon
PDF Transcript, Nov 18, 1986
Transcript icon
HTML Transcript, Nov 18, 1986
There is no audio for this interview.

History Department Oral Histories

Dr. Everette Swinney provides detailed information about the History Department, including trends in enrollment and fluctuations in the number of history majors and history graduate students, and changes in the curriculum.  As a long-time department chair (1967-1980), he reflects on hiring philosophies and tenure vs. non-tenure positions in a time of rapid university expansion.  Swinney's higher-level observations about university administration includes discussions about Presidents McCrocklin, Jones, Smith, Hardesty, and Supple.

Transcript icon
PDF Transcript (Not yet available online)
Transcript icon
HTML Transcript, Nov 19, 1991

Full audio is available for this interview.  Request via Ask an Archivist.


LBJ100 Oral History Project

Dr. Swinney talks about his impressions of Professor Greene, who retired the year Swinney arrived, the political landscape in San Marcos around the 1960 election, and how Johnson was perceived by the local community.

 

transcript icon
PDF Transcript, February 21, 2008 (not yet available online)
transcript icon
HTML Transript, February 21, 2008

Full audio is available for this interview.  Request via Ask an Archivist.