History Minute: Clarence Bell

“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty,” wrote James Madison, the nation’s fourth president and father of the Constitution, two centuries ago. The scientific, economic and social advances of any nation in history are always connected to how its people are educated. In Arkansas, progress in education has often been slow, but several important leaders have stepped forward to advance the cause of knowledge and education. Among those transformative leaders was Sen. Clarence Bell.

Clarence Elmo Bell was born in 1912 in Camden. He graduated from Camden High School in 1930 and enrolled at Ouachita Baptist College in Arkadelphia. He participated on several athletic teams. His skills and leadership led to an offer as an assistant coach and Dean of Men when he graduated in 1934.

In 1935, he accepted the dual position of coach and principal at Parkin High School. In 1939, he moved to nearby Marked Tree to accept a new teaching and coaching position. Bell proved a popular and effective teacher. In the meantime, even with a successful career and growing family, he decided to continue his own education and enrolled in summer graduate courses at the University of Arkansas, receiving a master's degree in 1940. The next year, he accepted a position as superintendent of Parkin Schools.

Bell began his political career in 1956 and was elected to the Arkansas Senate representing Cross, Crittenden and St. Francis counties. When he entered the Senate, it was natural that education became a special legislative passion for him. He served many years as chair of the Senate Education Committee, as well as the Senate Consumer Protection Committee. He continued to serve simultaneously as a superintendent until 1963.

With the inauguration of Gov. Dale Bumpers in 1971, a new push for education reform emerged in the state. For the first time, public high school students no longer had to pay for their own school books, which allowed poorer students to improve their academic performance and increase their chances of graduation. In 1973, Bell helped push through a bill that required local schools to include disabled children in regular classrooms as much as possible.

Bell also pushed through a law that allowed communities to form their own two-year junior colleges, allowing thousands of students access to more affordable education. These community colleges allowed students to either prepare for the work of a full university or gain two-year degrees in needed fields that did not require four-year degrees.

Communities across the state quickly seized the opportunity. East Arkansas Community College in Forrest City, at the heart of Bell’s district, organized in 1973 and began classes in the fall of 1974 with 684 students enrolled. Garland County Community College in Hot Springs (now National Park College) opened in 1973. North Arkansas College opened in Harrison in 1974.

Though university leaders worried about the drain on resources to existing colleges, Bumpers argued that too many students in the state could not afford the tuition plus living expenses of distant universities. Junior colleges allowed them to save money, get a good education, and prepare to transfer to four-year universities at a later date. As a result, when Bumpers left office in 1975, Arkansas ranked 11th nationwide in geographic access to higher education. Distance was no longer a factor for college education in the state, and communities began using the new schools as important resources for job training and economic development.

Gov. David Pryor, who was also friendly to education, succeeded Bumpers. Bell worked with Pryor and legislators to continue expanding the reach of higher education in Arkansas. Through his assistance, the community college branch of Southern State College (now South Arkansas Community College) opened in 1975 in El Dorado. Bell also helped transform Southwest Technical Institute in Camden into Southern Arkansas University Tech.

As the 1992 election approached, Bell decided to not run again at the end of his ninth term. He returned to Parkin and enjoyed a quiet retirement before his death in 1997 at the age of 85. His 36-year legislative career transformed higher education in the state. Education leaders in Arkansas have since called Bell the legislative father of Arkansas' community colleges.

Kenneth Bridges, Ph.D., is a professor of history at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: History Minute: Clarence Bell