James Harkins

James Harkins

James Harkins is a sixth-generation Texan and Senior Deputy Director of Heritage for the Texas General Land Office. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Business from Texas State University–San Marcos in 2005, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Texas State in 2010. His graduate thesis was recognized with the 2010–2011 James W. McGrew Research Award from the American Society for Public Administration.

Harkins has worked at the Texas General Land Office since 2005, where he oversees the Save Texas History Program and leads major initiatives related to historical preservation, public interpretation, and collections stewardship. He served as project lead for Texas Takes Shape: A History in Maps from the General Land Office (University of Texas Press, 2025) and has curated or co-curated exhibitions at institutions including the Witte Museum, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, and the Bullock Texas State History Museum.

A former president of the Texas Map Society, Harkins remains active in several professional organizations, including the Texas State Historical Association, the Bullock Texas State History Museum, and the Alliance for Texas History. His research and public-history work have been recognized with the Cecilia Steinfeldt Fellowship for Research in the Arts and Material Culture, the Larry McNeill Research Fellowship in Texas Legal History, and a second-place Presidio La Bahía Award from the Sons of the Republic of Texas in 2025 for Texas Takes Shape.