Glasscock Center Staff
Troy Bickham, Director
310C Glasscock Building
(979) 845-8328
tbickham@tamu.edu
Troy Bickham is a Professor of History. Having joined Texas A&M in 2003, he served in various roles at the university’s campus in Qatar from 2009-19, before returning to the Department of History. He teaches broadly in the histories of Britain and its empire, the Atlantic world, and British colonial North America during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early-nineteenth centuries. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
He is the author of four monographs: Savages within the Empire (2005), which explores how encounters with Native Americans affected British culture in the eighteenth century; Making Headlines (2008), which examines British engagement with the American Revolution via the British newspaper press; and The Weight of Vengeance (2012), which is a transatlantic study of the Anglo-American War of 1812. His most recent book, Eating the Empire (2020), investigates how food from around the world shaped British culture in the eighteenth century. He is currently working on a project that maps the movement of news in early modern Britain and its empire.
Jessica Ray, Associate Director
310D Glasscock Building
(979) 845-8328
jessicaray@tamu.edu
Jessica Erin Ray, an Instructional Associate Professor of History, joined Texas A&M University in 2020. She teaches about and researches US cultural history, specifically popular culture and dance. Drawing on her experience performing, choreographing, and teaching dance, she explores how embodied practices simultaneously reveal long-established cultural traditions and hold the potential for immediate change. Recent work includes "Voice from the Wings: Ann Barzel and Twentieth Century Dance Writing" (2022) and a chapter and case study in Dance in US Popular Culture (Routledge, 2023). Forthcoming publications include: “Movement on the Midway: Legacies of Dance at Chicago's 1893 World's Fair" and “Democratic Domesticity: Dance in Chicago Settlement Houses, 1889 to 1939” for Dancing on the Third Coast: Chicago Dance Histories (University of Illinois Press), and “Flipped/Hybrid and Flexible: Student Success and Redesigning the U.S. History Survey at Texas A&M University” (The History Teacher). In January 2023, Ray joined the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research as its Associate Director, where she manages undergraduate humanities research initiatives. Beyond Texas A&M, she acts as an artistic advisor to Houston-based Social Movement Contemporary Dance Theater.
Amanda N. Dusek, Assistant Director
305C Glasscock Building
(979) 845-8328
amanda.dusek@tamu.edu
Amanda Dusek joined the Glasscock Center in 2015, having graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M earlier that year with a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunication Media Studies. As the Assistant Director, Amanda coordinates the various programming, events, and grant opportunities presented by the Glasscock Center, as well as our communication and design efforts.
Leigh Stanislaw, Program Coordinator
305 Glasscock Building
979-845-8328
leighstanislaw@tamu.edu
Leigh graduated from Texas State University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She has since worked in various office settings and spent a number of years homeschooling her 4 children.
Caitlin Geller, Administrative Coordinator
305A Glasscock Building
chgeller@tamu.edu
Caitlin Geller (she/her) graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She joined the Glasscock Center as an Administrative Coordinator in 2024.
Angela C. Mayorga, Business Administrator
438 Academic Building
(979) 862-1540
amayorga@tamu.edu
Angela Mayorga earned a Master of Business Administration from Western Governors University in 2021 and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Texas A&M University in 2013.
She has provided business support to the university since her graduation in May 2013. Since November 2014, she has provided business support for the legacy College of Liberal Arts and continues that work under the College of Arts & Sciences.
As the Center’s Business Administrator, Angie manages a wide range of business activities including the Center’s budget, expense tracking, and providing guidance with financial matters.