FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Theressa Hoover grew up in Fayetteville, but she attended a high school in Atlanta, Texas. She had to relocate because her high school years came before the integration of Fayetteville High School in the fall of 1954.

Theressa Hoover

While she was forced to seek education outside of her hometown, two of Hoover’s close friends, Margaret Clark (M.A. 1968, Ed.D. 1978) and Betty Lee Davis, have started a scholarship fund with an initial donation of $3,000 to provide for other students the opportunities Hoover was unable to have. The scholarship, when fully endowed, will award money to Fayetteville High School graduates who plan to attend the University of Arkansas. Recipients will be students whose ethnic, cultural and/or national background contributes to the diversity of the student body.

Davis also co-chaired the “Friends of Theressa Hoover,” a small steering group that includes Polly Baker, Susan Chadick, Linda Farrell and Ruth Francis.

Hoover had a long and successful career that began with the Little Rock Methodist Council, continued on with the Women’s Division of Christian Service, and ended with 22 years as the head of staff of the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church in New York City. In addition to her career, she served on several boards, including the National Board of the YWCA, the National Council of Negro Women and the Board of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Celigny, Switzerland. After retiring, she returned to Fayetteville where she currently resides.

Clark and Davis wanted to find a way to acknowledge the outstanding work of their friend. In May 2008, they spearheaded an event, A Musical Salute to Theressa Hoover, which was sponsored by the “Friends of Theressa Hoover” and attended by more than 130 people at the Fayetteville Town Center. “Betty and I realized that nothing special had really been done in Fayetteville to celebrate Theressa,” said Clark. “We wanted the city of Fayetteville to come together and recognize all of her accomplishments, so we approached the mayor who was immediately on-board. The fundraising event was more successful than we imagined, and now, due to the generosity of the ‘Friends of Theressa Hoover’ who supported the event and contributed to the concept of establishing a scholarship to honor Hoover, we are able to start this scholarship fund in her honor.”

The event — filled with a variety of classical, Latin, popular, jazz and gospel musical selections by a guitarist, harpist, violinist, three pianists and two soloists — included Mayor Dan Coody’s proclamation of May 30, 2008, as Theressa Hoover Day in Fayetteville and the reading of a letter from Gov. Mike Beebe thanking Theressa for her service and commitment to strengthening the lives of others through her work. “Theressa truly has a new lease on life since the event,” said Davis. “We have been friends since birth, and to see her so animated and so alive was a wonderful thing.”

“The scholarship is a way of saying that even though Theressa was unable to go to Fayetteville High — which would have naturally led her to the U of A for college — we can help someone who is able to take that path today,” Clark said. “Naming a scholarship after Theressa makes sense. She is an outstanding role model for today’s young people.”

Over the years, Hoover has been recognized in many other ways for her outstanding work and her influence and impact on women and the world in general. In 2004, she was identified by Ebony magazine as one of the 100 most influential African American women, and she is a member of the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. The Women’s Division of the United Methodist Church established the $100,000 Theressa Hoover Community Service and Global Citizenship fund. In addition, the Theressa Hoover United Methodist Church in Little Rock was named for her, which is a rare honor.

Hoover holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Philander Smith College in Little Rock and a master’s degree from the New York University Center for Human Relations.

Clark is a retired University of Arkansas faculty member. She taught in both the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Health Professions. Davis, a Fayetteville native, is retired from New York University’s medical rehabilitation unit where she worked both as a laboratory technologist and as the director of the clinical laboratory. Both reside in Fayetteville.