Former Gov. Mike Beebe to Present Greenfield Lecture on University Experience
JONESBORO – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe will present the fall 2022 Corinne Sternheimer Greenfield Lecture at Arkansas State University.
Titled “From a Tar Paper Shack to the Governor’s Mansion: The Impact of Higher Education on the Life of Governor Mike Beebe,” his presentation will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, in the Drama Theatre of Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Dr. The public is welcome, and admission is free.
First presented in 2004, the annual Greenfield Lecture is funded by an endowment established by Drs. Rosalee and Raymond Weiss to honor her mother, Corinne Sternheimer Greenfield, who was born in Jonesboro in 1896.
The Sternheimer family was among the first to support the state agricultural school, established by legislative act in 1909, that has evolved into Arkansas State University. The Greenfield Lecture also is supported by the College of Liberal Arts and Communication, which coordinates the event.
In 2011 Governing magazine honored Beebe as Public Official of the Year. He now serves on the Bipartisan Policy Center Governors’ Council in Washington D.C., the board of Tyson Foods, and the board of Home BancShares, Inc. the parent company of Centennial Bank.
Born in Amagon, Arkansas, Beebe earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and was commissioned through the ROTC program at A-State in 1968.
While serving in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1968-1974, he completed law school at the University of Arkansas then entered private law practice at Searcy. Gov. Dale Bumpers appointed the young attorney to the Board of Trustees of Arkansas State University in 1974.
Beebe pursued his passion for public service, getting elected to five terms in the Arkansas Senate, including selection by his peers as president pro tempore during his last term.
Beebe was elected attorney general of Arkansas, serving from 2003 to 2007, before his election as the 45th governor of Arkansas, serving 2007-2014.
The Arkansas State University Alumni Association selected Beebe as a Distinguished Alumnus in 1989, Arkansas State University awarded Beebe with the honorary doctor of laws degree in 2007, and the ROTC Hall of Heroes inducted him in 2014.
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