The six 2025 Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame inductees are:

– Sharon Allen (1944 – 2021) of Little Rock
– Kelley Erstine of Conway
– James D. Lewis of Little Rock
– Robert (Bob) L. Shoptaw of Little Rock
– Tim White of Little Rock
– William (Bill) H. L. Woodyard, III (1945 – 2014) of Little Rock

* Sharon Allen

* Sharon Allen (1944 – 2021)
from Little Rock, AR
former President and Chief Operating Officer, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Kelley Erstine

Kelley Erstine from Conway, AR
CEO, Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas

James D. Lewis, RHU, REBC

James D. Lewis, RHU, REBC from Little Rock, AR
(retired) President, Lewis Marketing Group, Inc.
Independent Consultant for Mountaire Corporation

Robert (Bob) L. Shoptaw, BA, MBA

Robert (Bob) L. Shoptaw, BA, MBA
from Little Rock, AR
(retired) President and CEO, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Tim White, CIC

Tim White, CIC from Little Rock, AR
Executive Vice President, Brown & Brown of Arkansas

* William (Bill) H. L. Woodyard, III

* William (Bill) H. L. Woodyard, III (1945 – 2014)
from Little Rock, AR
former Partner – Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C.

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The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame was created in 2015 to identify and honor distinguished insurance industry professionals with strong ties to Arkansas who exemplify innovation, social responsibility, leadership and professional excellence; have made broad encompassing and lasting contributions to advance the role of insurance in society; and have significantly impacted the lives of many Arkansans.

 and various levels of recognition in support of the 2025 inductees are available through September 26, 2025, and can be found on the Hall of Fame website at: .

The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) College of Business partners with the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame to create and nurture a nationally recognized undergraduate degree program in insurance and risk management. Scholarships are awarded to students annually through the .

The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame seeks to remind the public of the important role the insurance industry plays in securing the well-being of both individuals and businesses, to inspire the next generation of leadership to reach these high levels of accomplishment, and to encourage young Arkansans to consider careers in the insurance industry.

Learn more about the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame on its website .

BTĚěĚĂhas been ranked as one of the nation’s top 50 most affordable colleges for online master’s programs in business. Just six percent of regionally accredited postsecondary institutions earned a ranking position from OnlineMastersDegrees.org (OMD). UCA’s business programs earned top honors for overall quality, affordability and commitment to student success.

“This year, we focused on the schools making it easier for students to compete in today’s increasingly difficult job market,” said Kyle Darland, co-founder of OMD. “Each ranked school offers a fully or partially online master’s program in business at a time when earning a master’s has become a minimum barrier to entry for many.”

Darland is referencing a recent survey from CareerBuilder, which found that “thirty-three percent of employers are hiring workers with master’s degrees for positions that had been primarily held by those with four-year degrees.” These employers cited an evolution of the skills needed to perform the jobs as the cause of the shift, and an increase in work quality, productivity and employee retention as the result.

“Providing students with opportunities to get a master’s online is only part of our rankings,” said Darland. “Top-ranked schools also had competitive tuition rates and/or scholarships to help drive costs down. And with grocery, gas and other expenses on everyone’s mind right now, an affordable master’s is key.”

OnlineMastersDegrees.org analyzed more than 7,700 accredited universities by using data pulled from the schools themselves and from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). After the data was compiled, OMD’s data science team then applied a proprietary algorithm to rank all qualifying schools for each of the different master’s degrees specialties. Primary data points include:

• Academic counseling services
• Career placement services
• Student/faculty ratio
• Tuition
• Percent of students receiving school-based aid
• Amount of school-based aid per student

To be eligible for ranking, a university must hold active regional accreditation and have at least one partially online master’s program in the ranking subject.

About OnlineMastersDegrees.org
OnlineMastersDegrees.org began in 2020 to support online learning at the master’s level. Our user-friendly, research-backed content helps students find scholarships, resources, financial aid, and connect with accredited colleges and universities across the country.

To create its list, Best Value Schools calculates each graduate tuition rate by the academic semester year with an academic year defined as two semesters. The rates reflected as shown are the latest available findings by the in-state tuition rate and separate from school fees. All the data gathered is pulled from the Google Search engine and is also listed from each school’s website. Where applicable, the tuition and acceptance rate data is sourced from the specific campus described in the list over the parent school. The tuition rate and acceptance rate are the two areas scored per school. Best Value Schools scored the schools first by graduate tuition followed by acceptance rate and then added the two scores for each school with a 2/3 emphasis on graduate tuition cost over the acceptance rate to get the final rankings shown above.

 earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) focusing on Logistics and Supply Chain Management and a  (MBA). Gutierrez now serves as an ABA Recruitment Specialist at .

 earned a Bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration and an focusing in Healthcare Administration. Rains now serves as the Executive Director of .

earned a BBA focusing on Logistics and Supply Chain Management, is currently earning her at UCA, and has served in several roles as a Project Manager.

Each year, reviews over 300 nominations of young, accomplished individuals showing much potential to be a leader in business, nonprofits, or politics.

Congratulations to these promising alumni for this achievement. We look forward to their full features in the September issue of Arkansas Business.

Outstanding students are those who take advantage of educational opportunities and show exemplary academic performance through internships, professional development and experiential education, volunteerism, and participation in clubs and activities.

The following students were awarded an outstanding status, chosen from over 1600 undergraduate and graduate students:

• Ashley Phipps, Outstanding General Business Student
• Bethany Arnold, Outstanding Insurance & Risk Management Student
• Brandon Scott Phipps, Outstanding Master of Business Student
• Claire DeBusk, Outstanding Accounting Student
• Daryl Adopo, Outstanding Finance Student
• Devin Gilbert, Outstanding Master of Accountancy Student
• Elsa Mattson, Outstanding College of Business Student ˛ą˛Ô»ĺĚýOutstanding Economic Student
• Emma McKnight, Outstanding Marketing Student
• Jack Bornhoft, Outstanding Logistics & Supply Chain Management Student
• Kayla Dean, Outstanding Management Information Systems Student
• Lucas Southard, Outstanding Management Student
• Laura Lane, Outstanding Marketing Student
• Logan Tribble, Outstanding Innovation & Entrepreneurship Student
• Rohan Saxena, Outstanding Information Systems Student

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

The BTĚěĚĂCollege of Business includes:

• Over 1600 Majors and Graduate Students
• 62 Total Faculty
• 15 Undergraduate Degree Programs
• 3 Graduate Degree Programs (MBA, MAcc, and Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics)

The goal of the BTĚěĚĂCollege of BusinessĚýľ±s to provide a hands-on, experience driven, education that prepares graduates to take on global issues. Through our diverse programs of study and distinguished faculty and staff, we take creative, engaged students and give them the tools to succeed when they earn their degrees. Our students travel the world, start their own innovative businesses, and join established businesses across the country.  Whatever their next step, our students are ready to make a positive impact.

Learn more about our programs of study and distinguished faculty and staff.