Dr. James S. Olson History Endowed Scholarship

The Dr. James S. Olson History Endowed Scholarship is established by Carlos R. Rainer of Sugar Land, Texas, and is established in honor of his former professor, Dr. James S. Olson. James S. Olson, a Texas State University System Regents Professor, received his B.A. from Brigham Young University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the State University of New York, Stony Brook, in 1969 and 1972. He joined the faculty of Sam Houston State University in 1972. Dr. Olson is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than 40 books on U.S. and World History. In 1987 and 1990, he received “Outstanding Academic Book” awards from the American Association of College and Research Libraries. In 2002, the auditorium of Sam Houston State University’s newest classroom and office building, Academic Building 4, was named the Dr. James S. Olson Auditorium. The Texas State University System Board of Regents took the action “in honor of his many accomplishments, and his continued generous support of Sam Houston State University.” Carlos Rainer is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, a global law firm with more than 4000 lawyers based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East with annual revenues exceeding $2 billion. Carlos received his J.D. in 2000 from The University of Texas School of Law and his B.A. summa cum laude in 1996 for History and English from Sam Houston State University, where he was a member of the Elliot T. Bowers Honors College. He has practiced law for over 22 years. Carlos attributes a great deal of his success as an SHSU student, a UT law school student, and a successful practicing attorney to his days as a student walking the campus of SHSU in the early 1990s, in particular, his interactions with and development under the tutelage of Dr. Olson, who inspired him to expect and settle for nothing less than the very best for himself and his life and to aim high and then climb even higher.