2018 Distinguished Alumni 
Curtis Barnett, a 1986 UCA graduate, serves as president and chief executive officer for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
A native of Sherwood, Barnett received a bachelor’s degree from UCA, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management’s Advanced Executive Program. He also has earned several professional designations, including certified employee benefits specialist and the professional in the Academy of Healthcare Management.
As CEO, Barnett also serves on the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Board of Directors and the Association’s Board of Managers for the Federal Employee Program. He also is a member of the Health Leadership Advisory Committee and serves as chairman of the Board of Managers for Blue Health Intelligence, a healthcare data analytics and solutions company.
Barnett serves on several industry-related boards of directors.
Current community involvement includes serving on the boards of the Baptist Health Foundation, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Healthy Active Arkansas and as a member of Fifty for the Future.
Barnett actively supports a number of charitable organizations, including the Arkansas chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which named him their Breath of Life honoree in 2015.
