Bill Stringfellow
MAGNOLIA — Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe has announced the appointment of William “Bill” Stringfellow, a retired insurance executive and attorney from Little Rock, to the Southern Arkansas University System Board of Trustees. He replaces Nathan Evers of El Dorado, a two-term member of the Board who recently completed his second stint as chairman.
“Governor Beebe made a great choice in selecting Bill Stringfellow to serve on the SAU Board of Trustees,” said SAU President Dr. David Rankin. “Mr. Stringfellow is not only an alumnus of the University, but he is also a long-time friend and advocate who will be an excellent addition to the Board. I look forward to working with him over the next several years as the University continues to move forward.”
A native of Hampton, Stringfellow attended Southern State College (now SAU) from 1951-1952 and served in the United States Air Force from 1953-1957 before returning to Magnolia to complete his degree. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1960 and continued his education at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, earning a Juris Doctor degree in 1973. In 1995 he earned the Education for Ministry degree from the University of the South School of Theology in Sewanee, Tenn. He was honored with the Southern Arkansas University Distinguished Alumni award in 2007.
While a student at SAU, Stringfellow received many honors. He was named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities (1950-60), Alpha Chi National Honor Society (1959), and received the Wall Street Journal Achievement Award as an outstanding student in the College of Business.
Stringfellow’s wife, the former Betty Jo Davis, also attended Southern State College during this time. They have remained active in supporting SAU both physically and financially for more than 50 years. They are members of the SAU Foundation’s Honor Societies and have endowed two William R. and Betty Jo Stringfellow Scholarship Funds to benefit students in the SAU College of Business. As members of the Legacy Society, they established the William R. and Betty J. Stringfellow Charitable Remainder Trust with the SAU Foundation as beneficiary for the benefit of the SAU College of Business. He served on the SAU Foundation Board of Governors from 2004-2010 and held the offices of secretary and chairman during that time.
Stringfellow will be sworn in Tuesday by Arkansas Court of Appeals Justice Cliff Hoofman, a friend and law school classmate.
Stringfellow said that he was deeply grateful for his appointment to the Board and that his commitment to Governor Beebe was that “As we have over these almost 60 years of our connection to SAU, Betty and I will continue our love for SAU and its ongoing success under the leadership of its president, Dr. David Rankin, the SAU Board of Trustees, and the ongoing support of the administration, faculty, alumni and innumerable friends of this now century old outstanding Arkansas institution of higher learning”
