Dr. Johnnie Roebuck and Dr. Lewis Shepherd to speak about Arkansas State Police Foundation to Arkadelphia Rotary Club, June 10

The Arkadelphia Rotary Club will meet Friday, June 10, 2015, at Western Sizzlin, 106 WP Malone Drive, for its weekly meeting. Dr. Lewis Shepherd and Dr. Johnnie Roebuck have been invited to serve as guest speakers to discuss the Arkansas State Police Foundation. Rotarians and guests are invited to attend. For more information on the guest speaker, please read his brief biography below. 

Dr. Lewis A. Shepherd, Jr. is Vice President for Student and External Affairs at Henderson State University.  Prior to his selection to his affiliation with Henderson in August 2009, he served at Ouachita Baptist University for twenty nine years, with his previous assignment as Assistant to the President for Special Programs. Dr. Shepherd has distinguished his career with dedication to civic and community service.  His community involvement includes but is not limited to:  Arkansas State Police, Commission; Clark County Economic Development Corporation, Chair; Clark County Strategic Planning Council, Chair; Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance; Metro Little Rock Alliance, Board of Directors; Clark County Child Safety Center, Co-chair; Mosaic Temples Cultural Center Advisory Board; Arkadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce, Past President; 2025 Commission, Secretary-Treasurer; Baptist Medical Center of Arkadelphia, Advisory Board; Clark County Community Foundation, Past Advisory Board and Chair; Arkadelphia Community Foundation, Past Advisory Board and Chair; and the South Arkansas Community Development, Past Board of Directors and Chair. 

Additionally, Dr. Shepherd was one of the founding members of the Arkadelphia Rotary-Sunrise Club and received designation as a Paul Harris Fellow.  He was the 2003 Arkadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce President’s Award for Outstanding Community Service.  He is also a life member of the NAACP. In addition to his association with Henderson, Dr. Shepherd is pastor of the Greater Pleasant Hill Baptist Church of Arkadelphia, AR, founded in 1867, a position he has held since October 2000.  Prior to serving as pastor of Greater Pleasant Hill, he was pastor of the New Haven Baptist Church of Camden, AR from June 1982 until September 2000.  Dr. Shepherd also serves as Executive Vice President of the Consolidated Missionary Baptist State Convention of Arkansas. 

Dr. Shepherd is a double graduate of Ouachita, having received a bachelor’s degree in religion and a master’s degree in education.  He earned a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and received the honorary Doctor of Divinity from Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock.  A native of the Magnolia, AR area, he is the son of Mrs. Rosie L. Shepherd and the late Lewis A. Shepherd, Sr. Dr. Shepherd is married to Dr. Joyce Rose Shepherd, the daughter of the late Mr. & Mrs. Sid Rose of Lewisville, AR.  Joyce is a professor of Human Services, Sociology, and Criminology at Henderson State University.

---

Former State Representative Dr. Johnnie Roebuck taught in public education for 41 years including 18 years as a Dean and Professor at Henderson State University.  She served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives, serving Clark and Nevada Counties.   During her time in the Legislature, she served as Vice-Chair of House Education Committee and Co-Chair of the Legislative Council Higher Education Committee.  She sponsored many pieces of landmark legislation including statutes creating the Professional Licensure Standards Board for educators in 2007, the Health Facility Infection Control Act in 2007, the System of 
Education for the Department of Youth Services in 2009 and the Teacher Excellence Support System in 2011.  

Representative Roebuck was elected House Majority Leader in 2011, serving as leader of the House Democratic Caucus.  She is currently a Governor Beebe appointed member of the Southern Regional Education Board.  She also serves on the Arkansas State Police Foundation Board.  In 2012, she was named the Gressie Carnes Arkansas Democratic Woman of the Year and Texas Woman’s University named her as the 2012 Distinguished Alumna.  In 2014, Henderson State University established the Johnnie Roebuck Leadership Scholarship which honors Dr. Roebuck for her contributions to HSU and public education.  The Clark County 
Democratic Central Committee named her the Bob Riley Democrat of the Year in 2014.  

A native of Mississippi, Dr. Roebuck earned her B.S. degree from Texas Woman’s University, M.S.E. from Henderson State University, Ed.S. and Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas.   She served as Dean of the Graduate School, Professor and Coordinator of the School Leadership Program at HSU, retiring in 2007 after 41 years in public education.  She is President of Managerial and Leadership Concepts, Inc. and works with school districts and organizations throughout the U.S. on issues regarding organizational culture, leadership style and teacher effectiveness.

Representative Roebuck is married to Dr. Tommy G. Roebuck, a retired dentist and former legislator. They are the parents of four children, four granddaughters and one grandson.