The Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to history of the U.S. state of Arkansas.
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:
The hall inducts new members annually and includes both contemporary and historical women or organizations which benefit women. [4]
| Name | Image | Birth–Death | Year | Area of achievement | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernie Babcock | (1868–1962) | 2024 | Author | [5] | |
| Betty Dickey | (1940–) | 2024 | Chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court | [6] | |
| Gussie Haynie | (1901–1957) | 2024 | Lawyer | [7] | |
| Jacquelyn Williams McCray | 2024 | Professor and academic administrator | [8] | ||
| Jamileh Kamran | 2024 | Fashion designer | [9] | ||
| JoAnne Bush | 2024 | Public servant | [10] | ||
| Kathy Webb |  | (1949–) | 2024 | Restaurateur and politician; Current Vice-Mayor of Little Rock | [11] |
| Committee of One Hundred for the Ozark Folk Center | 2024 | [12] | |||
| Sandra Keiser Edwards | 2023 | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | [13] | ||
| Cathy Hastings Owen | 2023 | Chairman of Eagle Bank & Trust Company, as well as Chairman, President & CEO of State Holding Company, in Little Rock | [14] | ||
| Pat Steele Qualls | 2023 | Lake City Mayor, President Clinton appointee to Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) | [15] | ||
| Nan Snow | (1936–) | 2023 | Civic activist for women's issues; a founder and charter member of the UCA Women's Giving Circle | [16] | |
| Joyce Williams Warren | (1949–) | 2023 | Arkansas' first black female judge, and multiple other firsts for black women | [17] | |
| Dorothy McFadden Hoover | (1918–2000) | 2023 | American physicist and mathematician | [18] | |
| Adolphine Fletcher Terry |  | (1882–1976) | 2023 | Political and social activist | [19] |
| Women's Giving Circle | 2023 | University of Arkansas alumni, financial support for university projects | [20] | ||
| Margaret Louise Sirman Clark | 2020 | First woman African-American professor hired by the University of Arkansas | [21] | ||
| Cynthia L. Conger | 2020 | Financial planner | [22] | ||
| Hispanic Women's Organization of Arkansas | 2020 | [23] | |||
| Brownie Ledbetter | (1932–2010) | 2020 | Political activism | [24] | |
| Dorothy Morris | 2020 | Philanthropist | [25] | ||
| Carolyn Pollan | (1937–2021) | 2020 | Arkansas State Representative | [26] | |
| Amy Rossi | 2020 | Executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families | [27] | ||
| Sister Rosetta Tharpe |  | (1915–1973) | 2020 | Entertainer | [28] |
| Alice Andrews | 2019 | Conservationist | [29] | ||
| Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority Beta Pi Omega chapter | 2019 | [30] | |||
| Diane Frances Divers Kincaid Blair | (1938–2000) | 2019 | Educator, political advisor, and writer | [31] | |
| Olivia Farrell | 2019 | Publisher; co-founder of the Arkansas Women's Foundation | [32] | ||
| Jo Luck | 2019 | Activist for ending world hunger | [33] | ||
| Charlotte Tillar Schexnayder | (1923–2020) | 2019 | Arkansas House of Representatives; first female president of the National Newspaper Association | [34] | |
| Louise McPhetridge Thaden |  | (1935–2018) | 2019 | Aviation pioneer | [35] |
| Carolyn Witherspoon | 2019 | Founding partner of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon and Galchus law firm; first woman to serve as president of the Arkansas Bar Association | [36] | ||
| Caroline F. Blakely | 2018 | Chancellor emeritus at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | [37] | ||
| Karen Flake | 2018 | President and CEO of Mount St. Mary Academy, Little Rock | [38] | ||
| Sue Griffin | (1934–) | 2018 | Editor in Chief Journal of Neuroinflamattion | [39] | |
| Raye Montague |  | (1935–2018) | 2018 | US Navy engineer and graphics designer | [40] |
| Bessie Boehm Moore | (1935–2018) | 2018 | Educator, civic leader, helped create the first public library in Pine Bluff. | [41] | |
| Florence Beatrice Smith Price |  | (1887–1953) | 2018 | Musical composer | [42] |
| Mary Steenburgen |  | (1953–) | 2018 | Actress | [43] |
| Annabelle Davis Clinton Imber Tuck | (1950–) | 2018 | First woman elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court | [44] | |
| Women's Foundation of Arkansas | 2018 | The only foundation in the state focusing solely on women and girls | [45] | ||
| Maya Angelou |  | (1928–2004) | 2017 | Poet | [46] |
| June B. Freeman | 2017 | Architect | [47] | ||
| Ruth Hawkins | 2017 | Historic preservation | [48] | ||
| Brinda J. Jackson | 2017 | Architect | [49] | ||
| Bernice Young Jones | (1905–2003) | 2017 | Philanthropist | [50] | |
| Pat Lile | 2017 | President and CEO of the Arkansas Community Foundation, Inc. | [51] | ||
| Olivetan Benedictine Sisters | 2017 | Established St. Bernards Hospital and Regional Medical Center | [52] | ||
| Elsijane Trimble Roy | (1916–2007) | 2017 | Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court and a United States federal judge | [53] | |
| Joanna Seibert | 2017 | Pediatric Radiology | [54] | ||
| Dorothy Stuck | (1921–2021) | 2017 | Civil rights | [55] | |
| Kay Kelley Arnold | 2016 | Community activist | [56] | ||
| Bettye Caldwell | (1924–2016) | 2016 | Educator and academic | [57] | |
| Cathy Cunningham | 2016 | Community development advocate | [58] | ||
| Joycelyn Elders |  | (1933–) | 2016 | Former Surgeon General of the United States | [59] |
| Betty Ann Lowe | (1934–2013) | 2016 | Pediatrician and educator | [60] | |
| Religious Sisters of Mercy of the Americas | 2016 | [61] | |||
| Lottie Shackelford | (1941–) | 2016 | Mayor of Little Rock | [62] | |
| Patti Upton | (1938–2017) | 2016 | Founder and former CEO of decorative fragrance company Aromatique | [63] | |
| Pat Walker | (1919–2016) | 2016 | Philanthropist | [64] | |
| Mary Ann Ritter Arnold | (1927–2017) | 2015 | First female mayor of Marked Tree, Arkansas, President of agribusiness and communications firm E. Ritter & Co | [65] | |
| Daisy Bates | (1914–1999) | 2015 | American civil rights activist, Little Rock Integration Crisis planner | [66] | |
| Betty Bumpers | | (1925–2018) | 2015 | Former Arkansas First Lady who led a statewide childhood immunization program | [67] |
| Hattie Caraway |  | (1878–1950) | 2015 | First woman elected to serve in the United States Senate | [68] |
| 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 | [69] |
| Hester Davis | (1930–2014) | 2015 | State Archaeologist with the Arkansas Archaeological Survey | [70] | |
| Roberta Fulbright | (1874–1953) | 2015 | Newspaper publisher and women's rights advocate; mother of United States Senator J. William Fulbright | [71] | |
| Mary Good |  | (1931–2019) | 2015 | Founding Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology (E.I.T.) at the University of Arkansas Little Rock | [72] |
| Johnelle Hunt | (1932–) | 2015 | Co-founder and former Board Member of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. | [73] | |
| Edith Jones |  | (1927–2019) | 2015 | First African American to attend and to graduate from the University of Arkansas Medical School, first female president of the National Medical Association | [74] |
| Alice Walton |  | (1949–) | 2015 | WalMart heiress and founder of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | [75] |
| Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools | 2015 | Advocated integration of the Little Rock public school system | [76] | ||
