New Diversity Scholarship Established at the University of Arkansas

A new scholarship program has been established at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville to honor Theressa Hoover, a black woman who was obliged to leave the city to attend high school because in the early 1950s blacks were not permitted to enroll at Fayetteville High School. Hoover went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Philander Smith College and a master’s degree from New York University. She served for 22 years as head of the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church.

The new scholarships will be reserved for graduates of Fayetteville High School. To avoid legal difficulties the scholarships will be for students of any race whose “ethnic, culture, and/or national background contributes to the diversity of the student body.”

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