Dorothy C. Gillam was born on December 23, 1933, in Keo, Lonoke County, Arkansas. She attended St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
She began her career at the Arkansas Teachers Association. At the same time, she worked for Universal Life Insurance Company and Perciful's. Gillam dedicated over four decades of her life to the Arkansas Department of Education, where she functioned in numerous positions, including executive secretary to the education commissioner, liaison to the State Board of Education, and administrative analyst. She assisted sixteen education commissioners during her tenure.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Dorothy Gillam and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Dorothy Gillam's father, James Clayborne
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Dorothy Gillam's mother, Eddie Mae Clayborne, ca. late 1940s-early 1950s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Dorothy Gillam's mother, Eddie Mae Clayborne, ca. 1950
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Dorothy Gillam's maternal aunt, Reecie Flonnoy, ca. 1940
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Dorothy Clayborne (Gillam) and her mother, Eddie Mae Clayborne, 1944
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Dorothy Clayborne (Gillam) with her Communion class
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Dorothy Clayborne (Gillam)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Dorothy Clayborne (Gillam), age 13, 1946
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Dorothy Clayborne (Gillam) with her classmates at St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Dorothy Clayborne (Gillam) with her basketball team, St. Bartholomew's Bomberettes, 1951-52
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Portrait of Dorothy Clayborne (Gillam)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Dorothy Clayborne (Gillam), first row, last seat
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Dorothy Gillam (2nd from left), ca. 1956
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Dorothy Gillam and her son, Tommy Clayborne, in the backyard at Dorothy's mother's house on State St.; Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Dorothy Gillam, ca. 1964
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Dorothy Gillam's children, Tommy and Diane, 1966
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Dorothy Gillam with her children, Tommy and Diane, Easter Sunday, 1967
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Dorothy Gillam and her daughter, Diane McKinstry, 1967
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Dorothy Gillam's children, Diane McKinstry and Tommy Clayborne, celebrating Diane's 3rd and Tommy's 13th birthdays, September, 1969
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Dorothy Gillam, 1973
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Dorothy McKinstry (Gillam), 1973
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Dorothy Gillam at IRC luncheon, Governor's Mansion, 1981
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Dorothy Gillam at the Arkansas Department of Education, December, 1982.
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Dorothy Gillam (far right), 1983
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Dorothy Gillam (left) at the Camelot Hotel, Executive Secretarial Seminar, 1986.
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Dorothy Gillam (2nd from left), 1987
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Behind-the-scenes photo of Pryor Center interview with Dorothy Gillam; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Behind-the-scenes photo of Pryor Center interview with Dorothy Gillam; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: Behind-the-scenes photo of Pryor Center interview with Dorothy Gillam; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
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© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
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© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
