Olive Hilliard, an instructor in the Department of Speech and Public Relations, died on Feb. 24. Ms. Hilliard, who taught at UCA since 2003, was respected by her colleagues and admired by her students.
She had taught in the areas of Academic Outreach, the Department of Writing, and the Department of Speech and Public Relations.
Ms. Hilliard graduated from Arkansas High School in Texarkana in 1974 and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Secondary Education from Texas A & M University, Texarkana, formerly East Texas State University in Texarkana, Texas. She completed her Master of Arts Degree in Journalism at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.
She was actively involved in the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, where she served as Founding Advisor/Contributing Artist and Writer; a board member for Habitat for Humanity, Faulkner County; former member of Arkansas Realtors Association; Faulkner County Board of Realtors; National Board of Realtors; and Coldwell Banker Advantage Realtors, Pam McDowell Properties.
Friends and colleagues described Olive as a kind, gracious, and admirable woman.
“Olive was a wonderful, talented teacher,” said Jayme Stone, director of Learning Communities. “She was full of grace, beauty and humor. She was a very classy woman and she will be sorely missed.”
Ms. Hilliard leaves behind her children, Joseph King, II, Cameron King, Andrea King Jasper, Jamel King, Arpaya King, Brittany Hervey, and Brianna Hervey.
She was preceded in death by her parents, N.H. and Ollie Hilliard; her first-born daughter, Courtney Bianca Hilliard-James; and her sister, Sharon Lynn Hilliard Lyles.
The College of Fine Arts and Communication plans a memorial fund to honor the memory of their valued colleague, friend, and talented, caring university educator.