This collection consists of materials pertaining to the lives of Dr. Ada Jane Harvey and Constance Mitchell, who were well known professors at Arkansas State Teachers College (now UCA).
Dr. Ada Jane Harvey, born in 1890, earned her bachelor’s degree from Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA). She earned her master’s degree from the University of Chicago (Chicago, IL), and her doctorate from New York University (New York, NY), additionally she attended the University of Paris (Paris, France), the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM), and the University of San Marcus (Lima, Peru). She was a professor at ASTC from 1921 until her retirement in 1955, and she established the school’s first Foreign Language Department. Dr. Harvey died on March 13, 1980.
Constance Mitchell, born in 1888, earned her bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL). She earned her master’s degree in English from George Peabody College (Nashville, TN) and a library science degree from the University of Illinois. She began her career at ASTC as an English professor in 1919, and in 1941 became head librarian of the college’s Torreyson Library where she later established the Arkansas Room (which became the UCA Archives and Special Collections). She was an active member of the Arkansas Library Association, and worked hard at establishing and maintaining libraries throughout the state. She also sponsored the Women’s Basketball team and led them to two state championships. She retired in 1954, and died April 15, 1976.
Both women were active members of the American Association of University Women, and held positions within the local Conway branch as well as at the state division level, the Conway Shakespeare Club, and the Conway Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Ada Jane Harvey and Constance Mitchell share a family plot, alongside Constance’s parents at The Historic Oak Grove Cemetery (Bruce Street).
See our From the Archives entries for more information about Dr. Ada Jane Harvey and Constance Mitchell.
Box 1
File 1 – Ada Jane Harvey Last Will and Testament and Related Materials.
File 2 – Ada Jane Harvey Correspondence Concerning Will and Estate, 1978-1981.
File 3 – Ada Jane Harvey Newspaper Clippings,1918-1972.
File 4 – Cassette Tape, Funeral of Ava Jane Harvey.
File 5 – French Camp Scrapbook, created by Anna Loe Russell, 1935.
File 6 – Constance Mitchell Last Will and Testament and Related Materials, 1975-1976 and 1978.
File 7 – Constance Mitchell Newspaper Clippings,1918-1972.
File 8 – Poem: “The Song of Old Faithful” by Constance Mitchell.
File 9 – Writings by Constance Mitchell including Original Poems; Submitted Memories and Oral Histories from former students of Ada Jane Harvey and Constance Mitchell; and Newspaper Clippings.
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