Tyler Resident, Patriot Student-Athlete Named 2024 UT Tyler History Scholar

June 5, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan

Ryan Swan of Tyler, a junior at The University of Texas at Tyler, is a 2024 history scholar. A Wyoming native, Swan received the UT Tyler Edwin and Frank Smyrl Academic Achievement Award in the amount of $800.

The UT Tyler Department of History presents scholarships to declared history majors in recognition of excellent academic performance, and to encourage the study of history at the university.

“We congratulate Ryan, who is a prime example of the excellent students we have in history,” said Dr. Neil Gray, dean of the UT Tyler College of Arts and Sciences. “I also want to thank our history faculty for being tremendous mentors and supporters of our students.”

This scholarship honors the memory of historian Edwin Smyrl, and his brother Dr. Frank H. Smyrl,
founding department chair and first dean of the UT Tyler College of Liberal Arts, now known as the
College of Arts and Sciences. Frank is survived by his wife Carolyn Smyrl, who is the chief benefactor of this award.

A member of the Patriots men’s basketball team, Swan will graduate in May 2025 with a UT Tyler
Bachelor of Science in history and pre-law minor. He plans to attend law school after graduation.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT
Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students.
Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has
unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent
patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World
Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.