Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame

The organization was founded and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2014 to recognize women's contributions and impact upon the state of Arkansas. It was formed as a partnership between the Arkansas Business Publishing Group and the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.[1] An eleven-member board was developed to create a permanent location for the Hall of Fame and a sustained tribute to the women who have helped to build the state. Until a permanent facility is built, the plans call for a statewide traveling exhibit on the inductees.[2] The inaugural group of women, inducted on 27 August 2015, included 11 women and one organization, the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools and were selected from public nominations of 73 potential candidates.[3]

The criteria for induction into the Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame is that women were born in and achieved recognition within the state; are or have been a resident in Arkansas for an extended period of time and achieved prominence within the state; or were born in or lived in Arkansas for a significant period of time and achieved prominence elsewhere. Additional criteria:

• Made significant and enduring contributions to their field, whether professional or not;
• Made improvements to the cultural, economic, political or social status of their community, the state or the nation;
• Elevated the status of women and/or girls;
• Helped open new frontiers for women and the general society;
• Were inspirational role models.[4]

The hall inducts new members annually and includes both contemporary and historical women or organizations which benefit women.[4]

Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame

Name	Image	Birth–Death	Year	Area of achievement	Ref(s)
Margaret Louise Sirman Clark			2020	First woman African-American professor hired by the University of Arkansas	[5]
Cynthia L. Conger			2020	Financial planner	[6]
Hispanic Women's Organization of Arkansas			2020		[7]
Brownie Ledbetter		(1932-2010)	2020	Political activism	[8]
Dorothy Morris			2020	Philanthropist	[9]
Carolyn Pollan			2020	Arkansas State Representative	[10]
Amy Rossi			2020	Executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families	[11]
Sister Rosetta Tharpe		(1915-1973)	2020	Entertainer	[12]
Alice Andrews			2019	Conservationist	[13]
Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority Beta Pi Omega chapter			2019		[14]
Diane Frances Divers Kincaid Blair		(1938–2000)	2019	Educator, political advisor, and writer	[15]
Olivia Farrell			2019	Publisher; co-founder of the Arkansas Women’s Foundation	[16]
Jo Luck			2019	Actviist for ending world hunger	[17]
Charlotte Tillar Schexnayder			2019	Arkansas House of Representatives; first female president of the National Newspaper Association	[18]
Louise McPhetridge Thaden		(1935–2018)	2019	Aviation pioneer	[19]
Carolyn Witherspoon			2019	Founding partner of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon and Galchus law firm; first woman to serve as president of the Arkansas Bar Association	[20]
Caroline F. Blakely			2018	Chancellor emeritus at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff	[21]
Karen Flake			2018	President and CEO of Mount St. Mary Academy, Little RockMount St. Mary Academy	[22]
Sue Griffin			2018	Editor in Chief Journal of Neuroinflamattion	[23]
Raye Montague		(1935–2018	2018	US Navy engineer and graphics designer	[24]
Bessie Boehm Moore		(1935–2018)	2018	Educator, civic leader, helped create the first public library in Pine Bluff.	[25]
Florence Beatrice Smith Price		(1887–1953)	2018	Musical composer	[26]
Mary Steenburgen			2018	Actress	[27]
Annabelle Davis Clinton Imber Tuck			2018	First woman elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court	[28]
Women’s Foundation of Arkansas			2018	The only foundation in the state focusing solely on women and girls	[29]
Maya Angelou		(1928–2004)	2017	Poet	[30]
June B. Freeman			2017	Architect	[31]
Ruth Hawkins			2017	Historic preservation	[32]
Brinda J. Jackson			2017	Architect	[33]
Bernice Jones		(1905–)	2017	Philanthropist	[34]
Pat Lile			2017	President and CEO of the Arkansas Community Foundation, Inc.	[35]
Olivetan Benedictine Sisters			2017	Established St. Bernards Hospital and Regional Medical Center	[36]
Elsijane Trimble Roy		(1916–2007)	2017	Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court and a United States federal judge	[37]
Joanna Seibert			2017	Pediatric Radiology	[38]
Dorothy Stuck			2017	Civil rights	[39]
Kay Kelley Arnold			2016	Community activist	[40]
Bettye Caldwell		(1924–2016)	2016	Educator and academic	[41]
Cathy Cunningham			2016	Community development advocate	[42]
Jocelyn Elders		(1933–)	2016	Former Surgeon General of the United States	[43]
Betty Ann Lowe		(1934–2013)	2016	Pediatrician and educator	[44]
Religious Sisters of Mercy of the Americas			2016		[45]
Lottie Shackelford			2016	Mayor of Little Rock	[46]
Patti Upton			2016	Founder and former CEO of decorative fragrance company Aromatique	[47]
Pat Walker		(1919–2016)	2016	Philanthropist	[48]
Mary Ann Arnold		(1927–)	2015	First female mayor of Marked Tree, Arkansas, President of agribusiness and communications firm E. Ritter & Co	[49]
Daisy Bates		(1914–1999)	2015	American civil rights activist, Little Rock Integration Crisis planner	[50]
Betty Bumpers		(1925–)	2015	Former Arkansas First Lady who led a statewide childhood immunization program	[51]
Hattie Caraway		(1878–1950)	2015	First woman elected to serve in the United States Senate	[52]
Hillary Clinton		(1947–)	2015	Former Arkansas First Lady, First Lady of the United States, U.S. senator from New York, and U.S. Secretary of State	[53]
Hester Davis		(1930–2014)	2015	State Archaeologist with the Arkansas Archaeological Survey	[54]
Roberta Fulbright		(1874–1953)	2015	Newspaper publisher and women's rights advocate; mother of United States Senator J. William Fulbright	[55]
Mary Good		(1931–)	2015	Founding Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology (E.I.T.) at the University of Arkansas Little Rock	[56]
Johnelle Hunt		(1939–)	2015	Co-founder and former Board Member of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.	[57]
Edith Jones		(1927–)	2015	First African American to attend and to graduate from the University of Arkansas Medical School, first female president of the National Medical Association	[58]
Alice Walton		(1949–)	2015	WalMart heiress and founder of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art	[59]
Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools			2015	Advocated integration of the Little Rock public school system	[60]

The hall inducts new members annually and includes both contemporary and historical women or organizations which benefit women.[4]

Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame

Name	Image	Birth–Death	Year	Area of achievement	Ref(s)
Alice Andrews			2019	Conservationist	[61]
Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority Beta Pi Omega chapter			2019		[62]
Diane Frances Divers Kincaid Blair		(1938–2000)	2019	Educator, political advisor, and writer	[63]
Olivia Farrell			2019	Publisher; co-founder of the Arkansas Women’s Foundation	[64]
Jo Luck			2019	Actviist for ending world hunger	[65]
Charlotte Tillar Schexnayder			2019	Arkansas House of Representatives; first female president of the National Newspaper Association	[66]
Louise McPhetridge Thaden		(1935–2018)	2019	Aviation pioneer	[67]
Carolyn Witherspoon			2019	Founding partner of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon and Galchus law firm; first woman to serve as president of the Arkansas Bar Association	[68]
Caroline F. Blakely			2018	Chancellor emeritus at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff	[69]
Karen Flake			2018	President and CEO of Mount St. Mary Academy, Little RockMount St. Mary Academy	[70]
Sue Griffin			2018	Editor in Chief Journal of Neuroinflamattion	[71]
Raye Montague		(1935–2018	2018	US Navy engineer and graphics designer	[72]
Bessie Boehm Moore		(1935–2018)	2018	Educator, civic leader, helped create the first public library in Pine Bluff.	[73]
Florence Beatrice Smith Price		(1887–1953)	2018	Musical composer	[74]
Mary Steenburgen			2018	Actress	[75]
Annabelle Davis Clinton Imber Tuck			2018	First woman elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court	[76]
Women’s Foundation of Arkansas			2018	The only foundation in the state focusing solely on women and girls	[77]
Maya Angelou		(1928–2004)	2017	Poet	[78]
June B. Freeman			2017	Architect	[79]
Ruth Hawkins			2017	Historic preservation	[80]
Brinda J. Jackson			2017	Architect	[81]
Bernice Jones		(1905–)	2017	Philanthropist	[82]
Pat Lile			2017	President and CEO of the Arkansas Community Foundation, Inc.	[83]
Olivetan Benedictine Sisters			2017	Established St. Bernards Hospital and Regional Medical Center	[84]
Elsijane Trimble Roy		(1916–2007)	2017	Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court and a United States federal judge	[85]
Joanna Seibert			2017	Pediatric Radiology	[86]
Dorothy Stuck			2017	Civil rights	[87]
Kay Kelley Arnold			2016	Community activist	[88]
Bettye Caldwell		(1924–2016)	2016	Educator and academic	[89]
Cathy Cunningham			2016	Community development advocate	[90]
Jocelyn Elders		(1933–)	2016	Former Surgeon General of the United States	[91]
Betty Ann Lowe		(1934–2013)	2016	Pediatrician and educator	[92]
Religious Sisters of Mercy of the Americas			2016		[93]
Lottie Shackelford			2016	Mayor of Little Rock	[94]
Patti Upton			2016	Founder and former CEO of decorative fragrance company Aromatique	[95]
Pat Walker		(1919–2016)	2016	Philanthropist	[96]
Mary Ann Arnold		(1927–)	2015	First female mayor of Marked Tree, Arkansas, President of agribusiness and communications firm E. Ritter & Co	[49]
Daisy Bates		(1914–1999)	2015	American civil rights activist, Little Rock Integration Crisis planner	[50]
Betty Bumpers		(1925–)	2015	Former Arkansas First Lady who led a statewide childhood immunization program	[51]
Hattie Caraway		(1878–1950)	2015	First woman elected to serve in the United States Senate	[52]
Hillary Clinton		(1947–)	2015	Former Arkansas First Lady, First Lady of the United States, U.S. senator from New York, and U.S. Secretary of State	[53]
Hester Davis		(1930–2014)	2015	State Archaeologist with the Arkansas Archaeological Survey	[54]
Roberta Fulbright		(1874–1953)	2015	Newspaper publisher and women's rights advocate; mother of United States Senator J. William Fulbright	[55]
Mary Good		(1931–)	2015	Founding Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology (E.I.T.) at the University of Arkansas Little Rock	[56]
Johnelle Hunt		(1939–)	2015	Co-founder and former Board Member of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.	[57]
Edith Jones		(1927–)	2015	First African American to attend and to graduate from the University of Arkansas Medical School, first female president of the National Medical Association	[58]
Alice Walton		(1949–)	2015	WalMart heiress and founder of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art	[59]
Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools			2015	Advocated integration of the Little Rock public school system	[97]

• Stuck, Dorothy D.; Snow, Nan (1997). Roberta A Most Remarkable Fulbright. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1-55728-460-0.
• White, Nancy Marie; Marrinan, Rochelle A.; Sullivan, Lynne P. (1999). Grit-Tempered: Early Women Archaeologists in the Southeastern United States. Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-1686-3.
• Williams, Nancy A.; Whayne, Jeannie M. (2000). Arkansas Biography A Collection of Notable Lives. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1-55728-587-X.

• Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame official page