Mark W. Beasley

Associate Professor of History; Head, Department of History; Director, Graduate History Program
325-670-1279
HSU Box 16125
Cynthia Ann Parker College of Liberal Arts
History
mbeasley@hsutx.edu

In August 2000, I arrived at Hardin-Simmons University and was immediately struck with how friendly and “nice” everyone was to me. Surely, such a collegial atmosphere was a facade; certainly, the “real” HSU would soon reveal itself. Having been trained as an historian, I was somewhat skeptical about all this West Texas “niceness”; it could not last. Or so I thought. To my pleasant surprise, my initial impression has remained and strengthened over time; indeed, HSU is a terrific place to work, to learn and to grow — both personally and professionally.

Mark Beasley, born and raised in southern California, attended Pepperdine University and then stayed on, working in various administrative capacities and teaching American history part-time until 1993. At that time, he moved to Fort Worth to pursue a Ph.D. with Dr. Ben Procter at Texas Christian University. He has been a part of the HSU history faculty since 2000. His primary interest is in modern American political history, and he is currently conducting research for a biography on former Speaker of the House of Representative Jim Wright.