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Retta Murphy's unpublished doctorial dissertation signed by advisors for the University of Texas. Leaves iii-iv:
"The presidio, the mission, and the town were characteristic features of Spanish imperial expansion in America. In the accumulation and preservation of official records, and consequently in the presentation of facts to historical investigators, the presidio was far less notable than either the mission or the civil settlement. In the study of the history of colonial Spanish America a great deal of interest and emphasis has centered upon the sites, the foundings, the efforts, and the significances of numerous missions, as well as upon the development or decline of some towns. Military institutions have received less emphasis, except in the narratives of campaigns and conquests. Increasing investigation of presidial affairs, however, is according a finer balance to the whole study of the Spanish American colonies. In the eighteenth century the Spanish colonial empire was usually more active in the work of maintenance than in that of expansion, and New Spain was the most important part of that empire. The military posts in northern New Spain contributed no little to the institutional life of the frontiers and to the problems of the governing officials in Madrid and in the City of Mexico. It is the purpose of this writing to portray many of these problems of military administration, as they were producing, early in the second quarter of that century, a program of reform which centered around the presidial inspection by Brigadier Don Pedro de Rivera."

Dr. Augustin talks about growing up and attending college in Nebraska. Along with discussing how he ended up in the field of geography and his early work, Dr. Augustin speaks about what convinced him to come to Texas State. Dr. Augustin outlines his methods and philosophies of teaching geography and applauds the faculty of the geography department. He briefly talks about how the university and San Marcos has changed as well as where he has traveled.

William Dibrell talks about his career as both an educator at Texas State and as a member of the San Marcos City Council. He recalls his early life in Bastrop, serving in the Korean War, and earning his master's degree in special education at SWTSC. He reflects on his experience working as the assistant county school superintendent in Lockhart before teaching at San Marcos High School and helping with the Upward Bound program. He outlines how he devoted his career to supporting vocational education teachers and teaching public speaking courses. He describes the evolution of education in San Marcos, with specific mention of the laboratory school, the Coronal Institute, and the San Marcos Baptist Academy. He addresses his frustrations and the ways in which he believes San Marcos and its City Council need to improve and shares his views on teaching and the education system in general.