Bobby Roberts was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 3, 1944, and grew up in Helena, Arkansas. He received a BS from the University of Central Arkansas in 1970, a Master of Library Science from the University of Oklahoma in 1974, and a doctorate in history and archival administration from the University of Arkansas in 1978. After meeting Bill Clinton on campus at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Roberts became a close advisor to the future governor and president, working on Clinton’s campaigns across the 1980s and 1990s, and serving as the governor’s liaison to the Arkansas General Assembly. He joined the state Board of Corrections in 1986. While teaching at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, he founded the institution’s special collections department, now known as the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture. In 1989, Dr. Roberts was named director of the Central Arkansas Library System, where he founded the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.
#1: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Bobby Roberts; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Bobby Roberts; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Bobby Roberts; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
