Two Prominent Arkansans to Receive Honorary Degrees From the University of Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Federal Appeals Court Judge Morris S. Arnold and noted businesswoman and philanthropist Johnelle DeBusk Hunt will receive honorary degrees from the University of Arkansas and speak at the All-University Commencement Saturday, May 9.

 “I can’t think of any two people more deserving of this honor,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “Judge Arnold is one of the most respected legal minds in the federal judicial system and Johnelle Hunt is an absolutely brilliant businesswoman. Beyond those career successes, Judge Arnold and Mrs. Hunt have spent a significant portion of their lives in service to the people of Arkansas, making this state a better place to live and work. Their strong ties and devotion to the University of Arkansas make it a true pleasure to recognize them in this way.”

Judge Arnold will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws, LL.D.; Mrs. Hunt will be given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, L.H.D.

Morris S. Arnold was born in Texarkana, Texas. He attended the University of Arkansas, first as an undergraduate, receiving a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, then in the School of Law, where he earned his LL. B. degree, graduating first in his class. He also served as editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Law Review.

Judge Arnold continued his education at Yale University, Harvard Law School and the University of London.  He later taught at several American law schools, including the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Indiana University, Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of Michigan. He was a professor of law and history at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also served as a vice president of the university. 

Judge Arnold was appointed to the U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas in 1985, where he served for seven years. He was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in l992. Last year, the Chief Justice of the United States designated him to sit on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court of Review.

Judge Arnold has written almost 1,000 opinions during his career and has developed a national reputation for his thoughtful and careful opinions.

Judge Arnold is a former president of the American Society for Legal History. He has published eight books and numerous articles, mostly on the subject of legal history and the history of colonial Arkansas. His most recent book, The Rumble of a Distant Drum: The Quapaws and Old World Newcomers, 1673-1804, was published by the University of Arkansas Press and won the Worthen Literary Prize and the Ragsdale Prize. He was awarded the Porter Literary Prize for his body of work, principally his three books on colonial Arkansas. 

In 1994, the French government named him a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques for his work on eighteenth-century Louisiana.

Johnelle Hunt, from Heber Springs, is credited with helping her husband, J. B. Hunt, build one of the largest publicly traded trucking companies in North America. They began working as a business team in Stuttgart in 1961 with the founding of the J.B. Hunt Company, which processed and sold rice hulls to farmers for poultry litter. As the company grew, the couple developed a great synergy: he was the entrepreneur and salesman; she was the organizer, manager and tough businesswoman who made sure the debts were collected and the bills were paid.

In 1969, the couple started J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., in Lowell with five trucks and seven refrigerator trailers. The company now employs some 16,000 people. Mrs. Hunt recently retired from the company’s board of directors.

In 1972, the Hunts moved to northwest Arkansas. As their business prospered Johnelle and J.B. Hunt always found the time and resources to give back to their community, beginning when they co-founded the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of the United Way of Washington County United Way chapter. Hunt has led or served on numerous state, university and philanthropic organizations, including the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the university’s Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. She and her husband were instrumental in the creation of the J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. Center for Academic Excellence at the University of Arkansas.

Hunt has received many honors for her work over the years: She was named to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, received the Eagle Award for Outstanding Health Leadership from the Washington Regional Foundation, and in 2008 was recognized as Volunteer of the Year by the University of Arkansas.