Tom W. Dillard (1948–)

Tom Dillard is a historian, educator, author, archivist, and preservationist specializing in Arkansas history. His career opened doors in these areas, as he was the first historian of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, the first archivist at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) in Conway (Faulkner County), and the first curator of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Dillard also led the movement to require teaching Arkansas history in the state’s public schools, both advocating legislation at the Arkansas General Assembly and organizing groups to prepare and distribute appropriate materials for the classroom. Moreover, Dillard was the founding editor of the online CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

Thompson Wayne (Tom) Dillard was born on December 24, 1948, in Sims (Montgomery County), one of seven children of Hettie Beggs Dillard. Dillard graduated from Oden High School in 1966. He then enrolled in Henderson State Teachers College (now Henderson State University) in Arkadelphia (Clark County) before transferring to what is now UCA in Conway and receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1970. Dillard earned a master’s degree in history from the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County) in 1975. He was a member of the Arkansas National Guard from 1970 to 1980, serving as its historian and writing a book containing its history to that point.

Dillard married Donna Atwood in 1968, and they had a son, Neil. After their divorce in 1979, he married Mary Frost in 1982.

Dillard taught history in the Little Rock School District from 1974 to 1977. In 1977, he became historian of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. In 1980, Dillard was accepted into the doctoral program at the University of Georgia in Athens and began academic work there. The next year, though, newly elected Governor Frank White appointed Dillard to be director of the Department of Arkansas Natural History and Culture. (The name was shortened to the Department of Arkansas Heritage during Dillard’s tenure.) Dillard was reappointed to the director’s position by Governor Bill Clinton in 1983, and Clinton also made Dillard director of the state’s Sesquicentennial Commission, established to plan the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Arkansas’s statehood in 1986.

In 1986, Dillard left state government, accepting the newly established position of director of archives at UCA. Dillard continued to live in Little Rock while working at UCA, and he was appointed to the board of directors of CALS and then elected board president. In 1997, Dillard moved from UCA to begin a department of CALS that would focus on Arkansas history, culture, and genealogy. Dillard was responsible for recruiting staff, gathering materials, and seeking donations for this department, and an endowment by the late Richard C. Butler Sr. meant that the new department was designated the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. In addition to organizing and staffing a research room in the Main Library building, Dillard and his staff also created educational programs and events for CALS related to Arkansas history.

For years, Dillard had envisioned developing a user-friendly, online collection of Arkansas information and resources. While leading the Butler Center, Dillard began organizing what became the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Dillard sought donors, recruited board members to oversee the work, and met with individuals and agencies around the state to gather suggestions and promote interest in the project. After several years of fundraising and preparation, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas went online in May 2006, and it has operated continuously since then. However, by that time, Dillard had already left CALS, accepting in 2004 the position of head of Special Collections at UA in Fayetteville. Dillard retired from UA in 2012 and moved back to central Arkansas.

While working for UCA and CALS, Dillard used his experience in state government to encourage legislators to require teaching Arkansas history in the state’s public schools. He organized groups to lobby the Arkansas General Assembly, and he also served on the Secretary of State’s Arkansas History Advisory Council, helping to write the proposal that became Act 787 of 1997. Dillard then helped organize the Teachers of Arkansas Studies Council (TASC), which prepared materials and held workshops to assist teachers to fulfill the requirements of the act.

Dillard has published several books and articles about Arkansas history, as well as writing a regular newspaper column on Arkansas history for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He has been an active member of the Arkansas Historical Association, the Southern Garden History Society, the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas (now Preserve Arkansas), and the Society of Southwest Archivists, as well as the Pulaski County Historical Society, the Washington County Historical Society, the Arkansas Museums Association, the Central Arkansas Horticultural Society, the Mosaic Templars Building Preservation Society, and the American Association for State and Local History.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Dillard was active in the Republican Party of Arkansas, beginning with the Young Republicans. Dillard was attracted to the party by the leadership of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller. However, Dilliard grew disillusioned with the party under President Ronald Reagan and the influence of groups such as the Moral Majority. After he retired in 2012, Dillard became a leader of the Hot Spring County Democratic Committee.

For additional information:
Dillard, Tom. Statesmen, Scoundrels, and Eccentrics. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2010.

Dillard, Tom, and Valerie Thwing. Researching Arkansas History: A Beginner’s Guide. Little Rock: Rose Publishing Company, 1979.

Parks, Michelle. “Tom Wayne Dillard.” High Profile, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 10, 2007, pp. 1, 4.

Tom Dillard Papers, BC.MSS.17.88. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, Arkansas.