Walter Rundell Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 2, 1928 Austin, Texas, USA |
| Died | October 25, 1982 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Known for | Western American History |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Texas at Austin (BA) Georgetown University (MA, PhD) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Maryland Emory University Columbia University American University Iowa State University University of Oklahoma Texas Women's University Del Mar College |
Walter Rundell Jr. (November 2, 1928 – October 25, 1982) was an American author, academic, and historian who was distinguished in the field of Western American history.[1][2][3]
Background
Rundell was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Olive (née Spillar) and Walter Rundell.[3] He grew up in Baytown, Texas, where he went to public schools.[2] He attended to Lee Junior College (now Lee College) in Baytown, Texas, where his father taught and was a dean.[3][4] At Lee College, he was editor of The Lantern, the student newspaper, a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and received its Outstanding Student Award when he graduated in 1948.[2] Then, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with honors in 1951 with a B.A. in music history, a B.J. in journalism, and a minor in history.[2][3][4]
He loved choral singing and wanted to become a music critic.[4] However, he first completed the required military service and was assigned to the U.S. Army Finance Corp as a historian with the Office of the Chief of Finance in Washington, D.C.[4][5] While in the Army, he began working on a graduate degree in history at Georgetown University.[4] He received an M.A. in 1955 and a Ph.D. in 1957.[4] His dissertation was about the U.S. Army's management of money during World War II.[4]
Career
After leaving the military in 1957, Rundell taught at Del Mar College for one year.[4] Next, he taught at the Texas Women's University for three years.[4] While there, he published two books on the American west.[4] From 1961 to 1964, he was the assistant executive secretary with the American Historical Association in Washington, D.C.[4] He left that position to become the director of the National Archives' survey on the Use of Original Sources in Graduate History Training.[4] This two-year long position included conducting 600 interviews and traveling across the country to various institutions.[4]
Next, Rundell became a professor of graduate history at the University of Oklahoma.[4][5] Two years later, he moved to the Iowa State University where he served as chair of the history department.[4] At Iowa State, he had to fight to get recognition for the department and his research.[4] In the spring of 1971, he accepted the position of chair of the department of history at the University of Maryland which was a step up because it had a Ph.D. program.[4] He served in this capacity until 1976.[4] He also taught at American University, Columbia University, and Emory University,.[2]
Rundell was a "prolific and productive scholar."[4] He conducted research on a variety of topics, including archival holdings, arts of the American West, biography, military finance, research methods, teaching history, and western oil fields.[4]
Books
Rendell published five books and wrote more than fifteen pamphlets and short books, and more than forty articles.[2][5] When he died, Rendell was writing a biography of American historian Walter Prescott Webb.[5] He published books are:
- Black Market Money: The Collapse of U.S. Military Currency Control in World War II (Louisiana State University Press,1964)[3]
- In Pursuit of American History: Research and Training in the United States (University of Oklahoma Press, 1970)[3]
- Early Texas Oil: A Photographic History 1866–1936 (Texas A&M Press, 1977)[2][3]
- Military Money: A Fiscal History of the U.S. Army Overseas in World War II (Texas A&M Press, 1980)[3]
- Oil in West Texas and New Mexico: A Pictorial History of the Permian Basin (Texas A&M Press,1982)[3]
Professional affiliations
In 1961, Rendell was a founding member of the Western History Association, being described as "the James Madison of the group, charged with preparing the infant association's constitution and bylaws."[4] He was also a member of the American Historical Association, the Cosmos Club, the Organization of American Historians, the Potomac Corral of the Westerners, the Society of American Archivists, and the Southern Historical Association.[4][6]
Rundell was president of the Society of American Archivists from 1977-1978.[3] In 1982, three days before his death, he became president of the Western History Association.[4]
Awards and honors
- Rundell won the Waldo G. Leland Prize in 1971 for his book, In Pursuit of American History.[1] He received an Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Maryland.[4]
- His writings and books are housed at Blumberg Memorial Library of Texas Lutheran College as the Walter Rundell Jr. Special Collection.[2]
- The Western History Association created the Walter Rundell Graduate Student Award in recognition of his "commitment to graduate education in the field of Western History."[7] The award is given to doctoral candidates whose dissertation subject on the North American West.[7]
- He was included in Contemporary Authors, The Dictionary of International Biography, the Directory of American Scholars, Whose Who of American Education, and Whose Who of the South and Southwest.[2]
Personal
Rundell married Deanna Alyce Boyd on June 12, 1959, in Lewisville, Texas.[8] She was a graduate of Texas Women's University where Rundell was teaching.[8] They had three children—Jennifer, David, and Shelley.[4]
Rundell was a member of First United Methodist Church in Hyattsville, Maryland.[1] Although he left music for history, he never lost his love of it.[4] He joined the National Cathedral Choral Society, the University of Maryland chorus, and the choir of First United Methodist Church.[1]
He died of a heart attack in 1982 at his home in University Park, Maryland.[4][1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Walter Rundell, 53, Md. History Professor, Dies" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Rundell Collection Ceremonies Announced". The Baytown Sun (Baytown, TX). March 11, 1984. p. 1. Retrieved February 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Rundell, Walter, Jr". Handbook of Texas. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Hagan, William T. 1983. “Walter Rundell, Jr.” Western Historical Quarterly 14 (2): 140–44. doi:10.1093/whq/14.2.141.
- 1 2 3 4 "Walter Rundell Jr". Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX). October 26, 1982. p. 14. Retrieved February 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Rundell, Walter. “Remarks at the Cosmos Club Memorial Service for Oliver Wendell Holmes December 3, 1981.” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 51 (1984): 170–73. JSTOR 40067852.
- 1 2 "Walter Rundell Graduate Student Award". Western History Association. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- 1 2 "Candlelight Ceremony Unites Miss Boyd, Walter Rundell". Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, TX). June 14, 1959. p. 14. Retrieved February 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.