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Famous Names

Quite a few former staff members of The Arkansas Traveler and The University Weekly went on to some level of fame as politicians or writers. Among them:

Roberta Fulbright -- The mother of J. William Fulbright and publisher of the Fayetteville newspaper through the better part of the 20th century, was listed as a reporter, apparently in an honorary capacity because of her help for journalism students.
J. William Fulbright -- In 1923, he was listed as a reporter on The Traveler staff. While in school, he was a football star and president of the student body. After graduation, he was a Rhodes Scholar and later studied law at George Washington University. He was appointed president of the University of Arkansas after the death of John C. Futrall, but was ousted when a new governor, Homer Adkins, was elected. Subsequently, Fulbright ran successfully for Congress in 1942 and then for the U.S. Senate in 1944. He is best known for his opposition to U.S. continued involvement in the Viet Nam War and for establishing the International Educational Exchange that continues to bear his name. The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas was also named after him.
Don Harington -- Harington worked as a staff writer and then sports writer in 1952 and 1953. After college he began writing widely acclaimed novels set in the fictional Arkansas town of Staymore. He continues to write and teach art history at the University of Arkansas. Some of his novels include The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks, Butterflyweed, and his latest, With.
Brooks Hays -- Hays worked as a reporter, assistant editor and editor of The University Weekly from 1916 to 1919. After graduation, Hays went to law school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and was later elected to Congress during the 1940s and 1950s. He later served as special assistant to President John F. Kennedy.
Charles Portis -- Portis was a writer, feature editor and columnist for The Traveler in 1956 and 1957. He had served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War prior to college and then worked as a reporter after college, eventually for the New York Herald-Tribune in its London bureau. He has written several novels: Norwood (1966), True Grit (1968), The Dog of the South (1979), Masters of Atlantis (1984) and Gringos (1991).
David Pryor -- Pryor wrote some opinion and analysis pieces for The Traveler in 1956. After college and law school, he published a newspaper at Camden called the Ouachita Citizen. He later pursued political fortunes and was elected Arkansas governor in 1974 and then U.S. senator in 1978, serving until 1996. He is now dean of the Clinton School of Public Policy in Little Rock.
J.W. Trimble -- Trimble was an assistant editor of The University Weekly during 1915 and 1916. He later worked as a prosecutor and judge in Harrison, Arkansas, before running successfully for Congress in 1944, where he served until 1967.