Skip to main content
Intellect

Two new Department chairs in BYU College of Family, Home and Social Sciences

Academic Vice President John S. Tanner has announced new chairs for the Departments of History and Political Science in the Brigham Young University College of Family, Home and Social Sciences.

Shawn Miller will serve as the new chair of the History Department and replaces Arnold Green. The new Political Science Department chair is Darren Hawkins, who replaces Ray Christensen.

Miller has been with BYU since 1997 and was a recipient of the university’s Young Scholar Award in 2006. Prior to coming to BYU, Miller taught at Drew University and was a researcher at Harvard University. He has had many works published and is now working on a book titled “An Environmental History of Latin America.”

He received his bachelor’s degree from BYU and both his master’s degree and doctorate from Columbia University.

Hawkins joined BYU’s faculty in 1998 after several years of teaching at the University of Wisconsin, Dartmouth College and Tulane University. He has published two books along with many articles and scholarly papers. In 2004 he was named as a John A. Widtsoe Fellow.

Hawkins received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah, and both his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin.

For more information, contact Kimberli Gibson at (801) 422-1320.

Writer: Aaron Searle

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Online meetings have benefits — but in-person interaction remains irreplaceable, BYU psychologist says

February 12, 2026
As video calls, online meetings, and digital messaging become the default for work and social life, new research from BYU psychology professor Dianne Tice shows that something important is lost —shared physical presence. Without co-presence, you lose subtle facial signs, synchronized timing and responses, as well as the spontaneous, informal moments that build relationships.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU prof whose research touches lives across Pacific, honored as Big 12 Conference Faculty of the Year

February 09, 2026
Biology professor Rick Gill is one of 16 faculty — one from each Big 12 school — to receive the Big 12 Conference Faculty of the Year honor, awarded for innovation and research on each faculty member’s respective campuses. The awards were started in 2024, and Gill is BYU’s second honoree (following Charles Graham), which goes to dedicated faculty who “represent and reflect all the best attributes that make a college campus a bastion for learning and growth."
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Forum: Dr. Francis Collins

January 27, 2026
“Faith and reason are hand-in-hand ways that we find answers.”
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=