Kelby Harness is the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Annette M. Holeyfield Physical Education Scholarship at Arkansas Tech University.
A 2016 graduate of Green Forest High School, Harness is a junior health and physical education major from Alpena.
The scholarship was created by Holeyfield’s friends and colleagues in honor of her work on behalf of ATU students.
Holeyfield joined the Arkansas Tech faculty as a part-time visiting instructor in the Department of Health and Physical Education in 1985.
She attained the rank of full-time instructor in 1990, assistant professor in 1992, associate professor in 1998 and professor in 2004. She was granted tenure in 1996, and she served as department head from 1998-2015.
Holeyfield, 2004 ATU Faculty Award of Excellence winner in the service category, completed her career by working as director of the College of Education Partnership Office from 2015 until her retirement in May 2017.
A 1976 graduate of Arkansas Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree, Holeyfield added a Master of Education degree from ATU in 1977 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1997.
Holeyfield received the first Arkansas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (ArkAHPERD) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and the ATU Board of Trustees granted her the title professor emeritus of health and physical education in 2018.
