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'''Donald Roy Walker''', known as '''Don Walker''' (October 2, 1941 – July 15, 2016), was an [[historian]] of the political and social history of [[Texas]] who served on the faculty at [[Texas Tech University]] in [[Lubbock]] from the early 1980s until his retirement in 2008.

'''Donald Roy Walker''', known as '''Don Walker''' (October 2, 1941 – July 15, 2016), was an [[historian]] of the political and social history of [[Texas]] who served on the faculty at [[Texas Tech University]] in [[Lubbock]] from the early 1980s until his retirement in 2008.

Walker procured a Bachelor of Science degree in [[biology]] from the [[University of Texas]] at [[Austin]], a master's degree in history from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and his [[Ph.D.]] in history from Texas Tech. He served in the [[Peace Corps]] from 1965 to 1968 in the West African nation of [[Gabon]] and with the U.S. [[State Department]] in the former [[South Vietnam]] from 1969 to 1972.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lubbockonline/obituary.aspx?pid=180749349|title=Donald Roy Walker|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=July 22, 2016|accessdate=December 11, 2017}}</ref> 

Walker procured a Bachelor of Science degree in [[biology]] from the [[University of Texas]] at [[Austin]], a master's degree in history from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and his [[Ph.D.]] in history from Texas Tech. He served in the [[Peace Corps]] from 1965 to 1968 in the West African nation of [[Gabon]] and with the U.S. [[State Department]] in the former [[South Vietnam]] from 1969 to 1972.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lubbockonline/obituary.aspx?pid=180749349|title=Donald Roy Walker|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=July 22, 2016|accessdate=December 11, 2017}}</ref> 

After formal retirement as the associate dean of the TTU College of Arts and Sciences, Walker continued to teach a few classes at Texas Tech. His graduate-level courses were always full and students were placed on wait list for the chance to study under him. His publications included ''Penology for Profit: A History of the Texas Prison System, 1867 to 1912'', his dissertation which was published as a book in 1988<ref name=papers>{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00213/tsw-00213.html|title=Donald Roy Walker|publisher=lib.utexas.edu|accessdate=December 11, 2017}}</ref> and ''Frontier Texas Mercantile: The History of the Gibbs Brothers and Company, Huntsville, 1841 to 1900.'' He was commissioned to research and edit the papers of Texas [[Governor]] [[Preston Smith]], who succeeded [[John Connally]] in the position in 1969 and served until January 1973.  At the time of Walker's passing, he researching the tenure of an earlier governor in the 1950s, Allan Shivers. He had research interests in Texas ranching and the evolution of Western Swing music. He was fluent in French, Vietnamese, and sign language and was learning [[Germany|German]].<ref name=obit/> His research materials are available through the Southwest Collection archives at Texas Tech.<ref name=papers/>

After formal retirement as the associate dean of the TTU College of Arts and Sciences, Walker continued to teach a few classes at Texas Tech. His graduate-level courses were always full and students were placed on wait list for the chance to study under him. His publications included ''Penology for Profit: A History of the Texas Prison System, 1867 to 1912'', his dissertation which was published as a book in 1988<ref name=papers>{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00213/tsw-00213.html|title=Donald Roy Walker|publisher=lib.utexas.edu|accessdate=December 11, 2017}}</ref> and ''Frontier Texas Mercantile: The History of the Gibbs Brothers and Company, Huntsville, 1841 to 1900.'' He was commissioned to research and edit the papers of Texas [[Governor]] [[Preston Smith]], who succeeded [[John Connally]] in the position in 1969 and served until January 1973.  At the time of Walker's passing, he researching the tenure of an earlier governor in the 1950s, Allan Shivers. He had research interests in Texas ranching and the evolution of Western Swing music. He was fluent in French, Vietnamese, and sign language and was learning [[Germany|German]].<ref name=obit/> His research materials are available through the Southwest Collection archives at Texas Tech.<ref name=papers/>