Axe ’Em, Jacks!
A strong foundation for success
The James I. Perkins College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences is, in many ways, the heart of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ. No student is educated without a strong education and liberal arts foundation. We develop the skills that equip a student for a lifetime of success. Since the job market of the future will be different in unknown ways, students must be prepared to make connections between bodies of information, to interact in an international environment and to shift seamlessly from one career to another. We have shaped our curriculum to accomplish these goals by delivering an education that combines intellect with practical approaches toward knowledge.
A message from the dean, Dr. M. Dustin Knepp
Welcome to Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences! Here you have the opportunity to explore a variety of areas and interests; engage with international scholars, researchers, authors, poets, and philosophers; study languages and cultures at home and abroad; collaborate with professionals in their fields; participate in service learning with community-engaged faculty; and have experiences that will prepare you for real life situations by fostering critical thinking, applied knowledge, and engagement with others. Our goal is to prepare our graduates with the skills necessary for their chosen careers, but perhaps more importantly, with the resources, resilience and readiness for a lifetime of continued learning and success.
I invite you to explore our programs and reach out to one of our many outstanding faculty members about how you might thrive in the Perkins College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences.
M. Dustin Knepp, PhD
Dean, James I. Perkins College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences
936.468.2066
mdknepp@sfasu.edu
About James I. Perkins
James I. Perkins is a banker, attorney, civic leader and fourth-generation East Texan. Members of the James Perkins family have been Texas residents for nearly 200 years. He served as a member of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Board of Regents for 12 years and is a former board chairman. He also served as a board chairman and originator of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵSU Foundation.
Perkins received his Bachelor of Business Administration and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas – Austin and is a Navy veteran. He is a former city attorney and county attorney.
Perkins is the president and chairman of the board of Citizens 1st Bank, Tyler, and has served in this position since 1971. Citizens 1st Bank is a $760 million bank, and it has been named both the most profitable and the safest bank in Texas.
Citizens 1st Bank has been rated A+ by Weiss Ratings - the nation’s leading independent provider of bank ratings; the Texas Bankers Association awarded the bank the Cornerstone Award in 2017, and the East Texas Council of Governments awarded the bank Regional Corporate Citizen of the Year.
Perkins has been appointed by three governors to serve on state boards and has served as advisor to the Texas State Comptroller and the State Banking Commissioner. He is a former member of the State Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board.
Perkins and his wife, Margaret Hoover Perkins, have two children, James I. Perkins Jr. and Laura Perkins, who are both attorneys and bank directors. Margaret, a former teacher and school board member, also has a distinguished record of public service and has served as a bank director for more than 25 years. The Perkins are recipients of numerous awards including the Tyler Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Citizens of Tyler - T.B. Butler Award and the Association of Fundraising Professional’s Outstanding East Texas Philanthropists award.
More than 100 scholarships and faculty awards are awarded annually by the Perkins Family Foundation and Citizens 1st Bank to students and faculty throughout Texas.