University Honors Legacy of Roberta Fulbright

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Roberta Fulbright created a legacy during her lifetime as a businesswoman, a crusading newspaper publisher, and as a friend to the University of Arkansas. That legacy was celebrated Monday, Oct. 22, as university officials and more than 40 members of the Fulbright family gathered for a ceremony to name the dining hall that serves the Northwest Quad residence halls the Roberta Fulbright Dining Hall at the Northwest Quad.

In March the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees adopted a resolution saying “With this naming, we honor Ms. Fulbright for the legacy she created and the resulting benefits that have accrued and continue at the University and in the city of Fayetteville.”

Fulbright was honored by the university in the past with the naming of Roberta Fulbright Hall, a women’s residential facility, and Fulbright Dining Hall. Both of those buildings were demolished for the siting of new residence halls.

Fulbright was born in Missouri in 1874 and died in Fayetteville in 1953. In 1923, with the death of her husband, Fulbright consolidated and controlled the family’s substantial and varied business interests, included banking, real estate holdings, newspaper publishing and a variety of manufacturing, as well as retail and wholesale operations. She was a newspaper publisher and columnist, and advocated on behalf of the University of Arkansas, championed area civic causes, fought political corruption and promoted social equality for women. Fulbright influenced the character of J. William Fulbright, her son who served as the university’s president from 1939-1941 and as a member of the United States Senate for three decades.