About

About Us

Center for Arkansas History and Culture

Located in downtown Little Rock, the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas and History is located in the Central Arkansas Library System's Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History and Art building, the state's largest facility dedicated to the study of Arkansas history and culture. Through its connection to the university, the archives benefit from the rigorous scholarship of our faculty, creating a valuable resource for students, researchers, stakeholders, and the general public.

Mission

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture collects, keeps safe, and makes available Arkansas history that connects people to each other and their shared experiences.

Project Team

The Jim Guy Tucker project was made possible with the help of many people:

Deborah Baldwin
Associate Provost
Center for Arkansas History and Culture

Chad Garrett
Director

Technology and Digital Initiatives

Shannon Lausch
Archivist

Bridget Wood
Arkansas State Archives

Kaye Lundgren
Archival Assistant
Center for Arkansas History and Culture

Sarah Bost
Archivist
Center for Arkansas History and Culture

Ashley Richardson
Teacher
Lisa Academy

Colin Woodward
Archivist
Ph.D., C.A.

Garret Kremer-Wright
Archivist
Center for Arkansas History and Culture

John Jones
Graduate Assistant
Center for Arkansas History and Culture

Kimberly Kaczenski
Assistant Director
Center for Arkansas History and Culture

Advisory Board

Ben Johnson
Interim Provost
Vice President of Academic Affairs

Southern Arkansas University

Charles Romney
Assistant Professor of History,
Public History Graduate Coordinator
University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Jay Barth
M.E.,
Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of Politics
Hendrix College

John Kirk
Professor of History,
Director of the Joel E. Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity 
University of Arkansas at Little Rock

About This Project

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC), with financial assistance from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, has preserved and made available the Jim Guy Tucker Papers.

The processed collection spans 542.8 linear feet and contains letters, legislative documents, legal papers, campaign materials, memorabilia, audiovisual materials, and 3,500 photographs concerning the life and political career of former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker. Governor Tucker's career includes covering the Vietnam War and serving as Arkansas Attorney General, U.S. Congressman, and Governor of Arkansas (1992-1996). The papers concern a wide range of political, social, and economic issues that are of national and international scope, including the environment, criminal justice, and education. They provide great detail concerning political campaign strategy, media relations, and administrative management. Additionally, the collection highlights issues such as abortion, health care, economic policy, education, the environment, and crime, that were not just important to the people at the time, but continue to be. Thus, the papers provide researchers with a view from the “top-down” as well as the “bottom-up.”

This virtual exhibit explores the collection and Tucker's career. Readers can learn of Tucker's family history, including his time in Florida during the "Lost Year" (the year following the 1957 Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis when all Little Rock high schools were closed). The bulk of the collection and the exhibit involves Tucker's political career and achievements, as well as an entertaining look at the jingle used in lieutenant governor campaign. An extensive media gallery with over 200 digitized photographs ranges from his childhood to his governorship. An interactive timeline will take readers on a journey through his life through his papers, and teachers and students will enjoy the educational materials provided.

Grant Funding

This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), part of the National Archives and Records Administration.