Texas Woman’s history professor elected president of national honor society

Jan. 8, 2020 – DENTON – Texas Woman’s University history professor Jacob M. Blosser, Ph.D., was elected president of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society at the society’s biennial national convention in San Antonio Jan. 4. Blosser is the youngest-elected president in the society’s history.

Phi Alpha Theta has a long tradition of electing executive leaders who combine national scholarly reputations with a strong commitment to student-centered teaching. “I am honored to have been elected president and look forward to leading the society during its centennial celebration in 2021 and into its second century of promoting academic excellence,” said Blosser.

Blosser has been active in the society’s national leadership since 2010. Most recently, he served as the organization’s vice president from 2018 to 2020. He has been the faculty adviser of the Eta Nu chapter of Phi Alpha Theta at TWU since 2007. Eta Nu has received the national "Best Chapter" award for the last eight years. In addition, the chapter’s peer-reviewed student journal, Ibid., has received the prestigious Gerald Nash History Journal Prize for the best student journal in the nation for the last five years.

In 2019, the Texas Higher Educating Coordinating Board appointed Blosser to a three-year term on the Undergraduate Education Advisory Committee. The committee provides a statewide forum for the development of ideas and policies impacting undergraduate education throughout Texas.

Since 2008, Blosser has taken 117 students to present their research at regional and national academic conferences across the nation. Five TWU students accompanied Blosser to the San Antonio conference where they presented papers. 

“As president of the society, I plan to travel extensively visiting chapters across the U.S. My primary goal is to encourage student research and publication – especially on the undergraduate level,” said Blosser.

About Phi Alpha Theta

Established in 1920, Phi Alpha Theta is the nation's history honor society. It has 970 chapters in colleges and universities across the U.S. and boasts a membership of more than 400,000. Phi Alpha Theta annually sponsors more than 35 regional conferences, awards 40 scholarships and prizes, and publishes a highly regarded academic journal, The Historian. The society inducts approximately 8,500 new members each year.