FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - In honor of her 30 years as professor of political science at the University of Arkansas, Diane Blair, professor emerita, will receive an honorary doctor of laws at this year’s commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 13.

It was Blair’s zeal for teaching and her continued research and involvement in the area of government and political history that led to her being named three times by UA students as "Outstanding Faculty Member." She also was named as the Fulbright College’s first recipient of the "Master Teacher" award. It is this legacy for which Blair is being recognized by the University and it is this legacy that her former students have carried with them beyond the classroom.

"Her involvement with Arkansas and relationship with its people enabled her to bring real politics into the classroom," said Susan Thomas, a former student and graduate assistant to Blair.

"She had an actual story for every point she made. She made her lessons very real, tangible, and exciting. You left her classroom excited about politics."

Her tenure at the University is marked with engaging classroom methods in which she was determined and successful in teaching Arkansas students their state government and history.

Blair said she always tried to convey one significant message, "That executives have gained strength at the expense of legislatures in the 20^th century; that interest groups now perform many of the functions political parties once did, at a great cost to democracy.

"Beyond that, I always wanted my students to see that the choices people make as citizens do have important consequences; therefore, government is very much worth our attention, participation and understanding."

Those who worked most closely with Blair on the Arkansas political scene valued both her expertise and friendship.

"This honor is a fitting tribute to my friend, Diane Blair," said President Bill Clinton. "Hillary and I are proud to be among the countless people whom Diane has inspired with her love of learning, dedication to teaching, and passion for life."

Former Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas says of Blair, " 'Great’ is a relative term running from exceptional, to excellent, to incomparable. Diane, as a person, wife, mother, citizen, professor and friend, is just above incomparable, and as the saying goes, 'Nobody doesn’t love her’."

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Blair graduated from Cornell University in 1959, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She subsequently worked in Washington, D.C., as a contract analyst for the President’s Committee on Government Contracts, as a research assistant for a Senate Special Committee on Unemployment, and as a legislative secretary and speechwriter for Senator Stuart Symington.

In 1963, she moved to Arkansas, earned a master’s degree in political science from the U of A in 1967, and began teaching at the University, rising through the ranks to full professor in 1990.

Blair’s areas of expertise focused on Arkansas’ state and local government and on women in politics. In addition to numerous articles, she has published two books on these subjects: "Silent Hattie Speaks: The Personal Journal of Senator Hattie Caraway," by Greenwood press, 1979; and "Arkansas Politicians and Government: Do the People Rule?" by University of Nebraska Press, 1988. Blair also created an interdisciplinary course in "Politics and Literature."

Blair served her students, state and nation by remaining active in numerous civic and political organizations while teaching at the University. She was appointed by Governor Dale Bumpers in 1971 to chair the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women, by Governor David Pryor in 1976 to chair the Commission on Public Employee Rights, and by Governor Bill Clinton in 1980 as commissioner of the Arkansas Educational Television Network, on which she served until 1993 and which she chaired in 1986 and 1987. She still serves on the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

In 1992, she took leave from the University to serve as senior researcher with the Clinton presidential campaign. In 1996 she again took leave, serving as senior advisor to the Clinton-Gore reelection campaign. In the spring of 1993, she served as a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution.

She is listed in the American edition of Who’s Who in Government and Politics and in the World edition of Who’s Who of Women.