William A. Cloud received both his B.A. (Archeological Studies; 1978) and M.A. (Anthropology, with a focus on Archeology; 1987) degrees from The University of Texas at Austin. Since 1980 he has participated on various archeological projects for universities (Sul Ross State University-Center for Big Bend Studies; University of Texas at Austin-Texas Archeological Survey; University of Arkansas-Arkansas Archaeological Survey), state agencies (Texas Historical Commission-Office of the State Archaeologist; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department-Historic Sites Division), a federal agency (National Park Service-Big Bend National Park), and several private firms (Geo-Marine, Inc.,-Plano, Texas; Prewitt and Associates, Inc.,-Austin, Texas). He has served as Field Archaeologist, Laboratory Technician, Project Archaeologist, and Principal Investigator during the course of these investigations. He joined the Center for Big Bend Studies of Sul Ross State University in September 1995 as a staff archaeologist. After stints as cultural resources management coordinator and senior project archaeologist, and following the retirement of long-time CBBS director Robert J. Mallouf in August 2008, the University named him to carry the torch as director of the Center. Cloud served as director for 11 years until his retirement in December, 2019.