Center for Texas Studies

Director of the Center for Texas Studies, Gene Allen Smith, is not a native Texan, but he has a number of ties to the state.  His maternal grandmother was born and raised in Alvord and his son is a native Texan.  Gene moved to Fort Worth in 1994 and has embraced the city and state as his home–”he got here as fast as he could.” Since helping to create the Center, Gene has remained dedicated to its success because of his passion for history and his desire to inspire others to save their own past. He believes nothing is more important than preserving your heritage and culture to pass to your descendants.  ”Otherwise,” he says, ”we have failed as a society because we lose sight of who we are and from where we come.  Losing our past jeopardizes our present and future.”

Gene is a professor in the department of history and teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses on early American history. He has written, edited or co-authored several books on aspects of naval and maritime history, the War of 1812, and early American territorial expansion.  His book Filibusters and Expansionists explores early American expansion across the Gulf South into Texas. He is presently working on several projects including co-authoring a military history of the United States. He served as the 2013-14 “Class of 1957 Distinguished Chair in Naval Heritage” at the United States Naval Academy.  Additionally, he has received internal research awards from Montana State University-Billings and TCU, as well as fellowships from the Henry E. Huntington Library, the Virginia Historical Society, the U.S. Department of the Navy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and from the National Endowment for the Humanities.​