To Texas State Historical Association Executive Director, Mr. J. P. Bryan, Jr.,

We - former, present, and potential members of TSHA, concerned Texans all - respectfully request that you initiate a performance review of Chief Historian Dr. Walter L. Buenger, as set forth in the conditions of his employment contract with the University of Texas, expired September 1, 2022.

We ask, per the terms of the contract, that an objective, thorough evaluation of his productivity, scholarship, and leadership be made and the findings reported to the University of Texas, along with a recommendation as to whether he is to continue on as Chief Historian.

We trust that you will carry out this duty in an expedient fashion, as his contract lapsed well before you began your tenure as Executive Director.

His incendiary comments to the media, his narrow knowledge of Texas history, his lack of published work, and dearth of public outreach efforts during his time as Chief Historian, we feel, make him a poor fit for the role. He appears more interested in activism than in history and we believe that runs counter to the stated mission of the oldest learned history organization in Texas. Furthermore, we object to him drawing a paycheck from a state institution while his contract remains in its current state of limbo.