Past Hendrix Presidents

W. Ellis Arnold III ’79

President, 2019-2023

President Emeritus, 2023-

W. Ellis Arnold III was elected the 12th President of Hendrix College by the Hendrix Board of Trustees in November 2019. A 1979 Hendrix graduate, Arnold received his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. He practiced law in Little Rock from 1982 until his return to Hendrix in 1990 to serve as Vice President for Development and College Relations and lead the College’s church relations, communications, fundraising, and marketing, in addition to serving as General Counsel. In November 1996, Arnold was named President of Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee. He later served as President and Head of School of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, from 2004 until 2008, when he returned to Hendrix.

Arnold served the College as Acting President on two occasions, in addition to his role as Senior Executive Vice President, Dean of Advancement, and General Counsel. Under his leadership, Hendrix announced a 32 percent tuition reset, developed the Life Launch summer program for high school students, and successfully completed a $150 million campaign, which significantly increased the College’s endowment and helped renovate historic Martin and Veasey Halls. The Hendrix College Board of Trustees bestowed the honor of President Emeritus upon Arnold effective upon his retirement.

William M. Tsutsui

President, 2014-2019

Dr. William M. “Bill” Tsutsui became Hendrix College’s 11th president in 2014 and served through 2019. Tsutsui stressed creating greater accessibility and affordability, diversity and inclusion initiatives, a commitment to the core values of a residential liberal arts education, and connecting with the College’s United Methodist and Arkansas heritage. His tenure included two major capital projects: construction of the David and Mary Ann Dawkins Welcome Center and the Carolyn L. and David B. Miller Creative Quad.

J. Timothy Cloyd

President, 2001-2013

Dr. J. Timothy Cloyd became the 10th presid Tim Cloyd ent of Hendrix College in 2001 and served until 2013. During Dr. Cloyd's presidency, Hendrix inaugurated Your Hendrix Odyssey: Engaging in Active Learning, a nationally recognized engaged learning initiative. Hendrix successfully completed a $100 million comprehensive campaign to increase student financial assistance, to endow Odyssey, and to complete capital projects, including the new Student Life and Technology Center and Wellness and Athletics Center.

Ann H. Die

President, 1992-2001

As the president of Hendrix College from 1992-2001, Dr. Ann H. Die raised the national stature of Hendrix through her involvement in numerous national organizations, including the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the Executive Committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. During her tenure, Hendrix was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and completed the renovation of John H. Reynolds Hall, adding Acxiom Hall to become the Charles D. Morgan Center for Physical Sciences.

Joe B. Hatcher

President, 1981-1991

The late Dr. Joe B. Hatcher served as President of Hendrix from 1981 until 1991. Hendrix made many great strides during Hatcher's tenure, including the renovation of Greene Chapel, Martin, Galloway, Couch and Raney Halls, and Staples Auditorium. Following the 1982 fire that destroyed the College's administration building, Hatcher led the effort to build Fausett Hall. He led Hendrix through a successful campaign of nearly $17 million, which concluded in 1989, and helped launch the campaign to build and endow the college's current library. During Hatcher's tenure, Hendrix transitioned from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to the non-scholarship NCAA Division III. In 1987, the Carnegie Foundation re-classified Hendrix as a Liberal Arts 1 institution, one of the most important events during Hatcher's presidency.

Roy B. Shilling Jr.

President, 1969-1981

Dr. Roy Shilling was the first president since A.C. Millar in 1887 who had no previous connection with Hendrix. Under his leadership, cultural and intellectual life expanded with special academic programs such as the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language and the Marshall T. Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy. Three new buildings were completed and the market values of both the endowment and the physical plant increased during Dr. Shilling's tenure. Dr. Shilling resigned to become president of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he previously served as executive vice president.

Marshall T. Steel

President, 1958-1969

A 1927 Hendrix graduate and United Methodist minister, Dr. Marshall T. Steel brought substantial changes to the institution during his tenure. More new buildings were constructed than at any comparable time, varsity football and compulsory chapel were discontinued and the rules of dress and conduct were relaxed. The Marshall T. Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy continues his legacy of leadership by promoting the study of religion and philosophy on the Hendrix campus. Prior to his Hendrix presidency, Rev. Steel served Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, for 22 years.

Matt L. Ellis

President, 1945-1958

Under Dr. Ellis, Hendrix experienced a rise in attendance as returning World War II veterans enrolled in great numbers, added several important buildings to the campus, launched a revived general education program and established a closer relationship between Hendrix and the United Methodist Church of Arkansas. Prior to being named President of Hendrix in 1945, Ellis was President of Henderson State Teachers College as president, a position he accepted after being a philosophy professor and library teacher at Hendrix.

John Hugh Reynolds

President, 1913-1945

An 1893 Hendrix graduate, Reynolds was the first non-clergyman to serve as President. In 1897, he joined the history and political science department as a professor before continuing his teaching career at the University of Arkansas in 1902, where he was head of the history and political science department. Over the next decade, he developed a reputation as one of the state's most active scholars. At his retirement after thirty-two years of leadership, Reynolds left a legacy of new buildings, increased endowment, outstanding faculty members and graduates.

Stonewall Anderson

President, 1902-1910

A 1900 Hendrix graduate, Stonewall Anderson was the first alumnus of Hendrix to become president of the institution. He believed in the mission of Christian education and devoted his tenure to the promotion of higher standards of scholarship. After serving as a tutor for the college in 1890-91, Anderson temporarily abandoned his studies to fill several pulpits for the Methodist Church, South, in Arkansas. When Anderson returned to Conway as a pastor, he resumed his college work and received his degree in 1900. He also served as presiding elder of the Church's Clarksville, Fort Smith and Fayetteville districts. He was serving as a member of the Hendrix Board of Trustees when he was elected president of the college in 1902.

Alexander C. Millar

President, 1887-1902 and 1910-1913

Millar was only 26 when he assumed the presidency of Central Collegiate Institute. In 1888, Millar made an extensive tour of eastern colleges and universities in an effort to broaden his conception of the purpose of higher education by exchanging ideas with professors and presidents. From 1887 to 1890, he reorganized the entire curriculum, increased the faculty, purchased needed books and equipment and raised the requirements for both admission and graduation. Millar was also instrumental in the relocation of the college to its present site in Conway, Arkansas. Under Millar's tenure, CCI/Hendrix College came to represent the typical American small liberal arts college.

Isham L. Burrow

President, 1876-1887

Shaped by frontier individualism, Burrow set out to build a Christian institution of higher learning in western Arkansas virtually by himself. He selected a location 25 miles west of Clarksville and five miles east of Ozark in the small community of Altus. In 1875, he acquired 320 acres of land and began to build Central Institute which was the foundation of the modern day Hendrix College. He served as president of the college until 1887 and continued to be involved with the institution as its financial agent until 1889.