Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Augusta University hosted a memorial on Friday afternoon for professor emeritus of history Michael “Cowboy Mike” Searles.
After retiring from his position at AU in 2012, Searles continued a vigorous schedule researching and speaking on the history of Black cowboys, and maintained rich relationships with faculty and students. He died suddenly on June 23 this year at 80 years old.
The college coordinated a ceremony to pay homage to the beloved historian and activist. Faculty, friends and students gathered in the auditorium of the Maxwell Theatre, where colleagues of the late professor shared thoughts and memories, bookended with benediction and thanksgiving prayers by Chaplain Henry Holt, associate director of Spiritual Care at Augusta University Health.
Vocalist Larianna Goss and music professor Rosalyn Floyd on piano performed the AU Alma Mater, the Augusta State Alma Mater and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Retired Spanish language professor Jana Sandarg fondly recalled adventures with Cowboy Mike on faculty vacations, including an occasion on one such trip in Costa Rica, where he organized a group of his co-workers to help find a teenage girl’s lost necklace on the beach.
“He loved his job, his students, our university, our community,” she said. “Basically, he exuded happiness…. I never heard a cross word from him. He generated happiness wherever he went. I know that sounds really idealistic, but when it comes to Cowboy Mike, it’s all true.”
Ruth McClelland-Nugent, chair of the Dept. of History, Anthropology and Philosophy, remembered Searles as her mentor when she arrived at AU in 2005 as an assistant professor.
“Whether it’s through his kind words, or through formal academic mentoring, Cowboy Mike made such a difference in the lives of so many of our students over the years,” said McClelland-Nugent. “Although I miss him greatly, I take comfort in his living legacy [and] the students who carry his influence into the world in so many ways.”
She read thoughts written by former students about Cowboy Mike. Among them were Kay Lilly, currently a history teacher at Lakeside High School, who was inspired by his rich and informative teaching on African American history.
Another was Travis Wagner, an information sciences professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who remembered Searles as, among other things, a “jovial professor” who “treated each of his students as a vessel for imagining new ways of making history and for using history as a way to advocate for contemporary issues.”
Hubert Van Tuyll, after reading several quotes written by fellow faculty sharing similar sentiments and warm recollections, offered his own remarks on his late colleague.
“Cowboy Mike was a consummate scholar,” Van Tuyll said. “He conducted genuine original research traveling endlessly, often on his own nickel, to conduct interviews and gather information. I have never had another colleague whose car had 600,000 miles on it. It’s a side of Cowboy that not everyone saw.”
The final presentation was by Lee Ann Caldwell, retired AU history professor and director of the Center for the Study of Georgia History, who mentioned that Cowboy Mike once told her that he was “trying to get to a million,” though his engine gave out at about 670,000 miles.
Caldwell spoke about Searles’ frequent traveling and touring, including speaking on the history of Black cowboys whether on CNN or at school events, his signature cowboy hat and attire representing to kids “the essential Black Cowboy.” She mentioned how Searles also performed many, often secret, personal acts of kindness—such as when he spoke with Georgia Power to help an elderly woman behind on her electric bill.
She also surveyed his activism and concerns for social justice, often (but not solely) expressed in a local news column he wrote, in which he elucidated upon topics from voting rights to economic inequality, racial justice to gun violence, to matters of faith, arguing his points with historical knowledge. Many of those writings were compiled in a book, called “Cowboy Mike Speaks Truth to the True Citizen.”
Caldwell concluded with a quote by Searles from that book: “I thank all of those who have given me a wink, nod or a pat on the back along this journey.” She added, “You in this room are all part of Mike’s journey.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
