John Hugh Reynolds
b. 3 January 1869
d. 26 June 1954
John
Reynolds was born near Enola in Faulkner County in 1869. He graduated from Hendrix College in 1893 and
went on to earn his MA degree from the University of Chicago. He returned to Hendrix as a history and
political science professor and eventually served a four year tenure as the
college’s vice president. He was hired
by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1902 and while there, his
interest in Arkansas history led to his organization of the forerunner of the Arkansas
Historical Association. In 1905, he
authored a textbook, served as the Arkansas State Teacher’s Association
president, and drafted the legislation that established the Arkansas History
Commission. Reynolds returned to Hendrix
as its president in 1913 and served in that capacity until 1945. Under his leadership, Hendrix received
accreditation from the North Central Association, its endowment reached
$1,000,000, and he secured funds from the General Education Board of New York
for a new science building. [1] Reynolds was known for his ability to recruit
and retain quality faculty which helped Hendrix’s national recognition
increase. Outside of Hendrix, he was
elected as a delegate to the Sixth Arkansas Constitutional Convention. In 1950, the science building he helped fund
was named in his honor by the Hendrix Board of Trustees. The Morrilton School district named one of
its elementary schools after Reynolds in 1957. [2]
[1]
Baker, Russell P. "John Hugh Reynolds." 15 November 2006.
Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 22 February 2007
<http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=2898>.
[2] Faulkner County Historical Society. Faulkner County: Its Land and People.
Ed. Doris B. Dolan, Hattie Ann Kelso and Corinne H. Robinson. Conway: River
Road Press, 1986.
