13 Jun 2022 Hendrix College announces new trustees

CONWAY — Two new members have been named to the Hendrix College Board of Trustees: Heather Gardner ’93 of Chicago and the Rev. Dr. John C. Robbins of Little Rock. Both will begin their terms at the Board’s October meeting.

“We are excited to welcome two outstanding new members to the Board of Trustees,” said Hendrix College President W. Ellis Arnold III ’79. “They each bring strong leadership experience and unique perspective, and I look forward to their contributions and service to the Board.”

About Heather Gardner

Gardner, who will serve a six-year term, works as a Financial Institutions Relationship Manager for William Blair & Company LLC in their investment management distribution division, where she has been employed since 2001 and is a former partner. Most recently, she was the co-chair for the 2021 Annual Money Management Institute’s Distribution Leadership Forum. Heather is a member and past board member of the Women Investment Professionals of Chicago and is an active member of the Executive Club of Chicago. She is currently a candidate for the University of Chicago’s Graham School for a Master of Liberal Arts degree with a concentration in Ethics and Leadership. 

Gardner’s civic involvement includes serving as treasurer and head of the Finance Committee for the Civic Leadership Foundation (CLF), a nonprofit organization serving Chicagoland schools providing social-emotional project-based learning curriculum. She received Crain’s Chicago Business’ Notable Nonprofit Board Leaders recognition for her volunteer board work with CLF and the Community Service Award from the Junior League of Chicago in 2017. Gardner and her sister, Mary Gardner Burrelle ’95, recently co-founded the Women’s Leadership Endowment at Hendrix College, bringing together female Hendrix students and alumnae to create a network for leadership development programming, career guidance, mentoring, and internships. 

About the Rev. Dr. John Robbins

Robbins, who will serve a three-year term in a Board seat designated for United Methodist clergy, became the Senior Pastor of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock in July of 2020. Prior to that appointment, he served as senior pastor of Memorial Drive UMC in Houston, Texas, and of Central UMC in Fayetteville, Arkansas. A native of Texas, he is a graduate of Tarleton State University and received his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the Perkins School of Theology at SMU. Robbins is married to Hendrix alumna Susan Roberts Robbins ’86. His daughter, Rachel Robbins Sitler ’12, is also a graduate of Hendrix.

Robbins has previous board service experience with numerous nonprofit organizations, including Harris Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas; Houston Methodist West Hospital; the Foundation of Trinity Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler, Texas; the Central Texas Methodist Foundation; and the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas. He also served as board president of The Homes for Retired Ministers-Central Texas Conference.

About Hendrix College

A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit hendrix.edu.