Dr. Cassandra Rincones, Dean

Dr. Cassandra Rincones, dean of the Instruction, Social Sciences, Humanities, Cosmetology, & Kinesiology Divisions joined LSC-Kingwood in 2013 as an associate professor of history. Rincones earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Texas A&M University in Kingsville. She holds a Master of Arts degree in U.S. History from the same institution. Rincones earned a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in May of 2015, specializing in U.S./Southwest Comparative Border studies.

Rincones has been awarded several fellowships and grants, including the Lone Star College Chancellor’s Dissertation Research Grant, the Race and Ethnic Studies Institute Fellow from Texas A&M University, and the Catarino and Evangelina Hernández Research Fellowship in Latino History from the Texas State Historical Association.

Rincones has more than 15 years of experience, having taught at South Texas College, Weslaco and Alice independent school districts. She has also presented numerous papers including, "Bridging Cultures in the Community College: LSC-Kingwood NACCS Tejas Foco, and at LSC-North Harris in 2015; and "Tejana Rights: Solidifying Legal Codes in Early Texas" at the Texas State Historical Association meeting in March. Rincones is a member of the Texas State Historical Association.

"I enjoy working with our stellar faculty! Together I feel we make a real difference in our students’ lives!"," Rincones stated.

Publications

• "Tejana Land Grants: Gender and the Expansion of Empire," Southern Historian, (Spring 2015), Vol. 36.
• "The Introduction of Women into Hidalgo County Politics," Journal of South Texas, (Spring 2009).

Contact

Phone: 281.312.1670
Email: Cassandra.Rincones@lonestar.edu
Office: APA 109A

Steve Davis, Faculty

Steve Davis, history professor, is one of the founding faculty members at LSC-Kingwood, having started in the fall of 1984.  He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Houston. He also worked on his doctoral degree in American history from the same institution.  Aside from the standard survey courses in U.S. and Texas history, Davis teaches specialized courses in the Beatles and the British Invasion and the History of Rock and Roll.  He has won teaching excellence awards both at the University of Houston and at LSC-Kingwood.

Davis is the main author of the instructor's manual to accompany the 8^th edition of America: A Narrative History by Tindall and Shi, which is one of the most adopted college history textbooks in the country. His current project is the co-authorship of a documents reader in U.S. history to be published in 2013 by W.W. Norton.

In his limited spare time, Davis is an avid distance runner who has completed eight marathons and who makes appearances a couple of times per year as rhythm guitarist in a local garage band.

Contact

Phone: 281.312.1645
Email: Steve.Davis@lonestar.edu
Office: LIB 214B
Website: Website

John Barr, Ph.D., Faculty

John Barr, Ph.D., U.S. history professor, joined LSC-Kingwood in 2008. Barr teaches a variety of courses including a "Survey of U.S. History Pre-Columbian to 1877 to "The Emancipators: Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, and the Making of the Modern World."

In 2011, Barr was the recipient of the Hay-Nicolay Dissertation Prize by the Abraham Lincoln Association and the Abraham Lincoln Institute. He was also named Outstanding Graduate Student and was honored with the John King Award from the University of Houston in 2010.

Barr earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies Education from the University of Kentucky. He also received a Master of Arts degree in History from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Barr earned a Ph.D. from the University of Houston. His dissertation examined the various individuals who have dissented from the positive view of Abraham Lincoln that has persisted in American life since the Civil War. It included investigations into how African-American views of Lincoln have changed since 1865 and the role of Lincoln's memory in American conservative and liberal thought.

Barr has delivered various papers on the topic of Lincoln's assassination to the East Texas Historical Association and to the Southwest Social Science Association.

"I think that the study of the past is one of the most important activities in which an individual can be engaged. The study of history gives students access to a range of human experience to which they are unaccustomed and unexposed, and should therefore prompt inquisitiveness into their own world and help them better understand the present."

Contact

Phone: 281.312.1744
Email: John.M.Barr@lonestar.edu
Office: CLA 200J
Website: Website

Eric C. Skiles, Faculty

Eric C. Skiles, professor and artistic director of theatre, joined LSC-Kingwood 10 years ago. Skiles earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in conducting, vocal music and pedagogy from Texas Tech University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting and directing from the same institution.

Skiles has presented more than 39 papers at the local, state, regional and national levels. In addition, Skiles has contributed and/or authored more than 20 publications including 18 book reviews for the American Library Association. He also co-authored "Acting Across Disciplines" with Homan and Ellison. Skiles has also written and produced one play, "Across a moonbeam."

Skiles has earned numerous awards. He was recognized for the production of "The Vagina Monologues" by the Kennedy Center American College (KC-ACTF) Theatre Festival in 2011. He was also recognized by the KC-ACTF for "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde." In 2010, Skiles was recognized with the LSC-Kingwood Faculty Excellence Award."

"I am madly passionate about the world of theatre, and creating unique works of art to share with our students and our community," Skiles explained. "This has been an amazing ride, and the great ride continues. It is a pleasure to work at LSC-Kingwood and be surrounded by other passionate people who care so much for our students and their education."

Contact

Phone: 281.312.1672
Email: Eric.C.Skiles@lonestar.edu
Office: APA 123E
Website: Website

Juan Manuel Galván, Ph.D., Faculty

Juan Manuel Galván, Ph.D., assistant professor of History and Humanities, joined the LSC-Kingwood full-time faculty in 2019. He was a farmworker and a construction worker for many years before pursuing a career in academia. Galván earned an associate of art degree from Houston Community College. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Houston. His dissertation, “Historical Memory, Proto-Nationalism, and Nationalism in Mexico: Southwestern Puebla from 1519 to 1862,” focuses on the evolution of nationalist ideas among the indigenous and African populations of central Mexico.

Dr. Galván has presented his research at the Pacific Coast Branch of the Historical American Association, and at the Nueva Academia de San Juan de Letrán in Oaxaca, Mexico. In 2019, he was a panelist in “Revolución a Debate: Diálogo Internacional Sobre las Revoluciones Mexicanas” at the Universidad de Guadalajara, and gave the magisterial lecture, “¿Cómo se enseña la Historia de México en los Estados Unidos?” at the Benemérita y Centenaria Escuela Normal de Jalisco.

Dr. Galván received the Undergraduate Outstanding Achievement in History, the Center for Mexican American Studies Graduate Fellowship, and the Murray Miller Research Fellowship at the University of Houston. In 2018, he was awarded the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Excellence in Service Award at Lone Star College-Kingwood.

Contact

Phone: 281.312.1732
Email: Juan.GalvanRodriguez@lonestar.edu
Office: LIB 206K

Staff