Dr. Cora Duffy McHenry, the first female and first minority member of the Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees, will be inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 26.
The ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. at the Robinson Center in Little Rock. Ticket information is available at https://arblackhalloffame.org.
McHenry served on the ATU Board of Trustees from 1977-82. Her influence on the ATU campus continues today through the Cora McHenry Scholarship for Teaching Excellence, which is a competitive tuition scholarship awarded to minority students who demonstrate a commitment to teaching in Arkansas public schools.
A native of Augusta, Ark., McHenry graduated from Southern University (La.) before returning to her home state to begin her career as a teacher in Camden. She later successfully advocated for a law that required the State of Arkansas to provide free textbooks to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Previously, free textbooks were only guaranteed to students through the sixth grade.
After leaving the classroom, McHenry worked at the Arkansas Education Association. She was the organization’s executive director from 1985-2000 and was the first African American female to head a state affiliate of the National Education Association.
McHenry was appointed president of Shorter College in 2002. In 2008, she returned to Arkansas Tech as a guest speaker in the Norman Lecture Series.
“We have inherited a great opportunity,” said McHenry during that 2008 speech. “Our challenge is to give back. We can embrace the global community we live in and recognize that when different cultures come together, it enriches us all.”
