AUSTIN (AP) — Governor Rick Perry has appointed an East Texas author and junior college instructor as the new state historian.

Perry’s office said Wednesday that Bill O’Neal of Carthage is slated to serve in the post until August 22, 2014.

O’Neal is a nonfiction author and history instructor at Panola College in Carthage. He is a member of the Texas State Historical Association and past president of the East Texas Historical Association.

O’Neal received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from East Texas State University, now known as Texas A&M University-Commerce. He is a board member of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame and former board president with the East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System.

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