- Thomas Embry was the first African-American to enroll at Arkansas State Teachers College. He enrolled in the summer of 1956. The first African-American to graduate from this institution was Joseph Norman Manley, who received a Bachelor of Science degree on May 25, 1958.
- Dr. Mable B. Anderson, professor of childhood education, became the institution’s first African-American faculty member in 1969. She was one of several professors teaching in the newly created Southwest Center for Early Childhood Personnel Development.
- The first African-American member of the board of trustees was Judge Henry Jones, Jr., who was confirmed on March 4, 1975. Judge Jones was appointed U.S. magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas on Dec. 22, 1978. Before his appointment, Judge Jones was a lawyer Walker, Kaplan, & May law firm.
Source: The Centennial History of the University of Central Arkansas by Jimmy Bryant.