Rebecca Hankins is a professor and a certified archivist, and she received her (terminal) degree from Louisiana State University. She has been at Texas A&M University since 2003, receiving tenure in 2010 and promoted to Full Professor in 2019. She is housed in the Department of Global Languages and Cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences, where she researches and teaches courses in Africana and Religious Studies. In December of 2016, U. S. President Barack Hussein Obama appointed her to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) of the National Archives and Records Commission from 2017-2020. She has presented widely about Islam, science fiction/fantasy, archives, diversity, inclusion, cultural competency, social justice, and academic equity. Her publications have appeared in science fiction, libraries/archives, other peer-reviewed journals, and book chapters. She has presented nationally and internationally, including recent talks in Doha, Qatar, Barcelona, Spain, and Berlin, Germany.