Dr. Atkinson is Associate Professor of Social Sciences and has been on the Tarleton faculty since 1967.  A native Texan, he completed public schools in Sweetwater, Texas, and took his Bachelor of Arts degree in history and government from Texas Christian University in 1962.  He completed the M.A. degree from TCU while on active duty with the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in Fort Lee, Virgina, in 1965.  He completed coursework for the Ph.D. while commuting between Tarleton and T.C.U. in 1978.

Primarily a classroom teacher, Dr. Atkinson has served on numerous university committees directly related to to the student-teacher relationship.  Between 1984 and 1992 he was Head of the Department of Social Sciences, at the time comprising the disciplines of Economics, Government, History, Philosophy, Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Social Work.  In 1997, he received the Jack and Louise Arthur Award for Excellence in Teaching in recognition of over thirty years of service to Tarleton State University.

Dr. Atkinson is a recognized academician holding membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the most prestigious honor society in higher education, in Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society for history studies, and in Pi Sigma Alpha, a national honor society for government studies.  He is active in the community as past president of the Stephenville Rotary Club and of the Erath County Humane Society.

Dr. Atkinson has two children, James who is a junior mathematics major at the University of Missouri-Rolla, and Catherine who will enter the University of North Texas as a freshman in the fall of 1998.

 
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