October 2, 2010

Ida Jo Brooks, the daughter of Joseph Brooks of Brooks-Baxter War fame, was one of the first female doctors in the state and was the first woman faculty member of the University of Arkansas Medical School (now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences). She graduated from Little Rock University (Pulaski County) but was denied admission to medical school. After studying at Boston University School of Medicine, she returned to the state and became a leader in the field of psychiatry.