Faculty

History at McMurry is taught by a full-time faculty of three who bring a high level of professionalism and personal commitment to the enterprise of being historians. Two of the three members of the department have won the Gordon R. and Lola J. Bennett Award, McMurry’s most prestigious (and financially rewarding) recognition of academic achievement. And two of them have also been elected to the prestigious status of Fellows of the Texas State Historical Association.
	Dr. Donald Frazier Professor of History and Chair of the Department Phone: (325) 793-3861 Office: Old Main 304B Email: dfrazier@mcm.edu Dr. Frazier discusses national security on the radio show “The Professors” M.A., Ph.D., Texas Christian University B.A., University of Texas at Arlington Don Frazier is the author of numerous prize-winning books on the Civil War. In addition to Blood and Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest and Cottonclads! The Battle of Galveston and the Defense of the Texas Coast, he is now working on a trilogy examining the Civil War in Louisiana. Fire in the Cane Field, the first in the series, has now been followed by Thunder Across the Swamp. He has also edited The United States and Mexico at War and recently co-authored Frontier Texas: History of a Borderland to 1880 with Robert Pace. His documentary script and directorial debut, “‘Our Homes — Our Rights,’ Texas in the Civil War,” which he created for the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth, recently won the Mitchell A. Wilder Award of Merit for museum media from the Texas Association of Museums. Frazier is also the President and C.E.O. of the McWhiney History Education Group. Bennett Award, 2000; elected Fellow of the Texas State Historical Association, 2014.
	Dr. Stephen L. Hardin Professor of History Phone: (325) 793-3865 Office: Old Main 304D Email: hardin.stephen@mcm.edu Ph.D., Texas Christian University M.A., Southwest Texas State University B.A., Southwest Texas State University Dr. Stephen L. Hardin is a specialist in Texas, military, and social history. His numerous publications range from the award-winning Texian Illiad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution to, most recently, Texian Macabre: The Melancholy Tale of a Hanging in Early Houston, a fascinating study of early Houston society. In addition to his writing and teaching activities, Hardin has also provided specialist commentary on the A&E Network, the History Channel, the Discovery Network, and NBC’s TODAY show. Elected Fellow of the Texas State Historical Association, 2009.
The department is equally well-served by its adjuncts. Dr. Gary W. Shanafelt recently retired after over thirty years of service, but continues to teach courses on a part-time basis. His specialty is Central Europe, particularly the modern history of Germany and the Habsburg Monarchy. Rev. Bill Libby has taught in both the history and religion departments, as well as helping to lead an ongoing archæological excavation in Jordan.