Gerald D. Saxon, a native of Beaumont, Texas, retired from the University of Texas at Arlington in September 2024 after a distinguished 38-year career at the university, where he served as Director of Special Collections, Associate Director of Libraries, Dean of the Libraries, and Associate Professor of History. He now holds the titles of Dean Emeritus and Associate Professor Emeritus.
Saxon earned his Ph.D. in history from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) in 1979 and is a certified archivist. He taught undergraduate courses in Texas history, the history of the American Southwest, and historical methods, as well as graduate courses in archival enterprise, oral history methods, and public history.
His current projects include a biography of Texas empresario Sterling Clack Robertson (1785–1842) and a collaborative oral biography with Sarah Rose on Bob Kafka and Stephanie Thomas, two prominent Texas disability rights activists.
Saxon has authored, edited, and co-edited numerous books, including Contested Empire: Rethinking the Texas Revolution (Texas A&M University Press, 2015, with Sam Haynes); Collecting Texas (Book Club of Texas, 2010, with Thomas Kreneck); Historic Texas from the Air (University of Texas Press, 2009, with David Buisseret, Jack Graves, and Richard Francaviglia); and Mapping and Empire: Soldier-Engineers on the Southwestern Frontier (University of Texas Press, 2005, with Dennis Reinhartz). His earlier works include Narrative of the Texan Santa Fé Expedition (co-edited with William B. Taylor, 2004), Entrada: The First Century of Mapping the Greater Southwest (1998), Transitions: A Centennial History of The University of Texas at Arlington (1995), and The WPA Dallas Guide and History (1992, with Maxine Holmes).
