CONWAY, Ark. (August
21, 2020) — The Hendrix College Board of Trustees announces three new members to
fill open at-large positions. The new trustees, all of whom are Hendrix alumni,
will begin their three-year terms at the Board’s October meeting.
Susan Farris
DeBoard ’71 of Conway is a retired educator. In addition to her Bachelor of
Arts degree from Hendrix, she earned a Master of Arts from the University of
Central Arkansas in 1983. She spent much of her career teaching high school and
served as a visiting instructor at Hendrix in English and German from 2007
through 2013. Her service to the College has included membership on the Alumni
Association Board of Governors. DeBoard is not the first in her family to serve
on the Hendrix Board of Trustees; her father, Bill Farris, was a Board member
in the 1990s. She and her husband, Charlie, have three adult children, one of
whom is also a Hendrix alumnus (Charles, class of ’91).
Luke Duffield ’91
leads Blackstone Construction in Russellville, Arkansas. A former Hendrix
athlete who is passionate about the liberal arts, Duffield has supported
several of the College’s athletics-related capital projects in recent years, and
served on the committee for the recent Be Hendrix capital campaign, through
which he provided support for the construction of the Dawkins Welcome Center.
He is a member of the Russellville City Planning Commission, the Russellville
Regional Economic Development Alliance Board, and a board member of Friendship
Community Care and John L. Rankin Senior Living, a low-income housing project
for seniors in Russellville. Duffield and his wife, Stephanie, have four
daughters.
Derrick Smith ’97
of Little Rock is an attorney with the Mitchell Williams Law Firm and serves on
the firm’s Board of Directors. His practice focuses on insurance regulatory
law, government relations, and energy and utility law, where he represents
clients in their interactions with Arkansas governmental entities and state
insurance departments throughout the United States. He has previously served as
chair of the firm’s Regulated Business practice. Smith has been named in The
Best Lawyers in America for Administrative/Regulatory Law for 2016-2020 and one
of the “250 Most Influential Leaders” by Arkansas Business in 2019. He is a
member of the Pulaski Academy Board of Trustees and a former member of the
Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission and the Arkansas Lottery
Commission. His past service to the College includes a term on the Alumni Association
Board of Governors, of which he was President in 2003-2004, and as a member of
the Be Hendrix campaign committee. He and his wife, Dr. Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith,
have one son.
“We are excited
to welcome these three outstanding individuals to our Board of Trustees,” said
Hendrix President Ellis Arnold. “Hendrix has enjoyed a long history of
visionary board leadership, and I am confident our new members will continue
that tradition and work with their fellow Trustees for the long-term success of
the College.”
Hendrix announced
new Board of Trustees leadership in June.
About Hendrix College
A private liberal
arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns
recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is
featured in Colleges
That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About
Colleges.
Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix
as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876,
Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To
learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.