By: Salisa Wellenreuther, Skyline Reporter
ALPINE – Citing a wave or resignations and waning interest, The Center for Big Bend Studies recently announced that it has canceled its annual conference for 2026.
For the past 32 years, the conference has allowed students and collaborators to present research and promote the center’s work, officials told the Skyline, but the event's overall structure is under review following staffing changes.
The Center for Big Bend Studies has recently experienced a drop in staffing following resignations by several professors, which partly contributed to the cancellation of the event. Following the demotion of the previous director, Bill Adams from the Borderlands Research Institute has taken over as Interim Director.
Adams said that in the 30 days after sending out the call for contributions, the center received only one submission. In an interview with the Skyline, Adams said he decided to cancel the event rather than hold a “bad program”
“I want to do what’s right, not only for CBBS and the university, but for people that are coming, he told the Skyline. “It didn’t seem right to put on a conference that may not live up to expectations.”
Adams said that a new director, Dr. Adam Johnson, who currently serves as a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas in Arlington, has been selected and will take over decisions regarding the future of the CBBS conference. Adams said the department has been discussing changing the frequency of the conference to “give it a little more depth each time we meet.”
Though this year’s conference will not take place, Adams says there are still many opportunities for students and researchers to present their work, such as the spring Student Symposium and the West Texas Historical Association conference. The center hopes to resume its regular conferences with the coming of the new director.