The Arkansas Chapter’s first African-American President, Dr. Margaret Louise Sirman Clark, was inducted into the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame on April 20, 2022.
The Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame honors women like Dr. Clark who have made significant contributions to their community or the state, including by positively impacting women and girls and by creating new opportunities for women and for society in general.
Dr. Clark worked as a French professor at the College of Education and Health Sciences for 26 years and the College of Arts and Sciences for 25 years at the University of Arkansas. She served as the first African-American president of the Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association and of the Arkansas division of the American Association of University Women.
Through the Chapter, which partners with the East Bolivia Chapter, Dr. Clark has overseen multiple educational exchanges to and from Bolivia, as well as to and from Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, and Venezuela. She is also a mentor to staff for Partners’ Youth Ambassadors program.
“It was my love of languages and cultures that got me contacted to serve on the Arkansas-East Bolivia Partners of the Americas,” Dr. Clark said. “And it has truly been a group to which I have given a lot of service, not only as president but also as the chair of its education committee, a role in which I still serve.”
Dr. Clark has lived her life as a community servant looking for ways to improve the world around her by following her passion for art, culture, and foreign languages. She follows the motto, “Service is the rent we pay for living.”
Learn more about her accomplishments here.