Robert L. Uzzel

Dr. Robert L. (Bob) Uzzel was born on 22 May 1951 in Waco, Texas. He graduated from Waco High School in 1969 and received an Associate of Arts degree from McLennan Community College in 1971. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Sociology in 1973, a Master of Arts in Church-State Studies in 1976, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in World Religions in 1995 from Baylor University. He received a postdoctoral Master of Arts in Political Science at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2008. An ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, he served as pastor of Texas A.M.E. congregations in Dallas, Fort Worth, Kaufman, Blooming Grove, and Maypearl prior to his appointment to Ennis in 2002. He serves as Chair of the Department of Religion and as Associate Professor of Religion, History, and Political Science at Paul Quinn College. He has taught a wide variety of courses not only at Paul Quinn but also at Cedar Valley College, Mountain View College, Tarrant County College, Temple College, and Navarro College. A prolific writer, his articles have appeared in a number of publications. For his Masonic writings, he received Certificates of Literature from both the Philalethes Society and the Phylaxis Society. He is a Fellow of the Phylaxis Society, a holder of the Dr. Charles H. Wesley Medal of History, a Founding Fellow of the Masonic Society, and a member of the Society of Blue Friars an invitation-only organization for Masonic authors and editors. His books include Blind Lemon Jefferson: His Life, His Death, and His Legacy [ www.eakinpress.com ]; Prince Hall Freemasonry in the Lone Star State: From Cuney to Curtis, 1875-2003 [ www.eakinpress.com ], and Eliphas Levi and the Kabbalah: The Masonic and French Connection of the American Mystery Tradition [www.cornerstonepublishers.com ]. He is married to the former Debra Bass, a native of Fairfield, Texas. They have four children and eight grandchildren.