Having your house destroyed by a hurricane can change your perspective on life, as it did for Dr. James Worthen, the new Dean of the College of Arts, Science, and Education at Texas A&M University-Texarkana.  “It made me want to serve and give back, so I thought I would be better able to serve as a dean at a place that needs to grow and build,” he said. Dr. Worthen decided that TAMUT was the perfect place to do this.

Prior to his position here, Dr. Worthen was the Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Southeastern Louisiana University for 15 years. Becoming a dean was not necessarily his goal, however, when his home was destroyed in Hurricane Ida in 2021, it changed his perspective and he decided he wanted to focus on helping others through his career.

Dr. Worthen looks forward to helping push TAMUT to new heights and assisting the college with new development. “In many ways it’s sort of new and growing and I thought this would be a great place to help build things,” he said. In addition to assisting TAMUT’s growth, Dr. Worthen also looks forward to helping others on campus. “When you help someone solve a problem or fix something, that’s very satisfying and that is what I like about it,” he said. 

Typically, when he is not spending time with his wife, son, or dog, Dr. Worthen enjoys some activities that he feels you might not expect out of a university dean. “I think this: that people who met me in the real world outside of the university would be surprised at what I do for a living,” he said. Dr. Worthen used to be a musician and played in some bands. His last band, which he left in 2019, was based in Hammond, Louisiana and played at different venues such as the Columbia Theatre and breweries around the area as well as a few places in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Dr. Worthen also enjoys doing things outdoors, especially hunting. He has been a hunting guide in an operation in Uvalde, Texas in the past. He particularly enjoys bow hunting whitetail deer and hogs.