Russell Skowronek
2015 was a good year for Russell K. Skowronek who taught at Santa Clara University from 1991-2009. On 14 February he was honored with the Norman Neuerburg Award, by the California Mission Studies Association. Presented in Ventura, California, the award recognizes outstanding contributions towards the study and preservation of California's missions, presidios, pueblos, and ranchos. The award also serves to encourage and highlight current scholarship.
Later in February in his role as the Director of the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, he launched the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail which follows the Rio Grande from Laredo to the Gulf of Mexico. It boasts a bi-lingual web page, bi-lingual podcasts, and a bi-lingual map. Two books on the trail will be published by Texas A & M Press.
Finally, on 24 October the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was presented with the Distinguished Service Award “For Outstanding Contributions of Service to Texas Archeology,” at the 86th annual Texas Archeological Society meeting in Houston.
In addition to his directorship of the CHAPS Program, and work as a Professor in the Department of History and the Anthropology Program at UTRGV he currently serves as the Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Studies and Community Engagement in the College of Liberal Arts.