West Texas A&M University in Canyon was founded in 1910 as West Texas State Normal College. The school, located just south of Amarillo, joined the Texas A&M University system in 1993. The university recently appointed three women scholars to endowed faculty positions within the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences and the Hill Institute – a recently established interdisciplinary academy of researchers, teachers, and students.
Maxine De Butte has been named the Dyke Rogers Professor of Psychology. She has been a faculty member in the university’s department of psychology, sociology, and social work for the past 15 years. She teaches courses on biological psychology and conducts research regarding the role of hormones on ischemic brain injury.
Dr. De Butte is a graduate of Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.
Jenifer Kunz has been named the Dyke Rogers Professor of Sociology. A faculty member for over three decades, she currently serves as director of the sociology program. As a scholar and sociologist, she specializes in family, stratification, and organizations, with a particular focus on the effects of divorce on children.
Dr. Kunz is a three-time graduate of Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and sociology, a master’s degree in sociology, and a Ph.D. in sociology with an emphasis on family and stratification.
Judy Williams has been named the Dyke Rogers Professor of Education. She previously served as head of the university’s education department and associate dean of the College of Education and Social Sciences. Before joining the West Texas A&M University faculty in 2009, she served as a kindergarten, elementary school, and high school teacher in public and private school settings in Texas.
Dr. Williams received her bachelor’s degree in education and her master of education degree in reading from West Texas A&M University. She holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in language and literacy from Texas Tech University.