AddRan Welcomes New Endowed Faculty Chair for Fall 2026

AddRan College of Liberal Arts is pleased to welcome Andrew R. Graybill this fall as the new Erma and Ralph Lowe Chair in Texas History. The Lowe Chair was established in 2002 by Mary Ralph Lowe and the Lowe Foundation.

“It’s quite an honor to succeed Gregg Cantrell as the Erma and Ralph Lowe Chair in Texas History, given the tremendous work he did as the inaugural holder of this position,” Graybill said. “And I’m grateful for the opportunity afforded by this role to play a part in advancing the understanding of our vast, complex and fascinating state.”

A historian of Texas and the North American West, Graybill brings deep expertise in the region's history to TCU. Born and raised in San Antonio, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s degree in teaching from Trinity University and a master’s degree and doctorate from Princeton University.

Before joining TCU, Graybill taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Southern Methodist University, where he directed SMU’s William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies for 13 years. He has authored two books and served as editor for two essay collections and is currently at work on two additional research projects about the Texas Longhorn, including a “biography” of the state’s iconic animal species.

“I’m delighted to join such a congenial and accomplished department as well as the larger TCU community,” Graybill said. “For a historian of Texas and the wider North American West, it’s hard to imagine a better place to teach and write about the region than the place where, as the saying goes, ‘the West begins.’”

Graybill’s appointment as the Erma and Ralph Lowe Chair in Texas History strengthens AddRan’s commitment to historical research, engaged teaching and a deeper understanding of Texas and the American West.