Nancy Ellen Talburt

Nancy Ellen Talburt, Professor of English and former Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, passed from this life on March 22, 2025, at Willard Walker Hospice in Fayetteville. She was 87 years old. She was born in Orange, California, to parents William Curtis Brown and Marguerite Rhodes Brown on January 14, 1938. Nancy Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved nephew Jeffrey Martin James, and special cousin James Robert Rhodes III, aka “Jimmy.” She is survived by her beloved sister and brother-in-law Susan Carole James and John Edward James of Little Rock, special cousins Jennifer Rhodes (Gus Costantino), and many other family members and friends, including longtime friend Juana Young.

Nancy Ellen was an extraordinary person, an unwavering friend, a gifted teacher, an able administrator, a total supporter of the University of Arkansas, and a devoted sports fan, among many other things. Her legacy is considerable and her accomplishments impressive.

Nancy Ellen was a lifelong learner whose academic career began as a biology major with mathematics minor at Arkansas State University and continued through an MA and PhD in English at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and postdoctoral studies in Linguistics and English Literature at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was also, thanks to a course at ASU, an expert marksman.

Teaching was a calling for Nancy Ellen, and she practiced it with dedication and creativity throughout her long career, fostering the learning and progress of her students and developing new courses in mystery and detective fiction to add to the richness of the English Department curriculum. Over the years Nancy Ellen taught 20 different courses, including mystery and detective fiction, popular literature, linguistics, the novel, and world literature.

Nancy Ellen moved easily into administration, and served the UA in several capacities over the years, from Associate Director of Libraries, to Director of Records, to Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and finally as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Nancy Ellen also was Director of Summer School for many years. In addition, she served on Campus Council, and on numerous panels, advisory councils, boards, and many standing and ad hoc committees in her long career. Her service to the University of Arkansas extended beyond the campus as well. She regularly was tapped as a consultant in evaluation, assessment, and related areas in higher education. Nancy Ellen chaired 25 North Central Association accreditation teams and served on 15 others including those in Beijing, Bangalore, Bangkok, Singapore, London, Geneva, and Leiden, and in seven states in this country. She made invited presentations at NCA workshops across the country and served as consultant or keynote speaker at many institutions’ conferences. Nancy Ellen also chaired three self-study initiatives for the UA. She served in elected positions that included president of Phi Beta Kappa and of American Association of University Professors chapters. Nancy Ellen’s career at the University began in 1969. She retired in 2010.

Nancy Ellen was a prolific contributor to professional journals and a frequent and sought-after presenter at national Popular Culture Association meetings and other groups. She made invited presentations to the Barbara Pym Society in Oxford, the North American Barbara Pym Society, Crime and Mystery Fiction conferences at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, at an annual meeting of the world convention of mystery fiction (Bouchercon), and many other venues. Her writings can be found in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, the Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing, the Guide to Great Women Mystery Writers, and others. She was co-editor along with Lyna Lee Montgomery of stories collected in A Mystery Reader. She served as president and executive council member for the National Popular Culture Association and as national program chair for crime and mystery fiction. Nancy Ellen received the George N. Dove award from the Mystery and Detective Fiction Caucus of the Popular Culture Association in 2009.

Nancy Ellen’s service contributions extended beyond the academic world. She was the Governor’s appointee to the Arkansas Commission on Community-Based Rehabilitation for 16 years; served on the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Pardon, Parole, and Sentencing; chaired that Commission and served ex-officio on the Arkansas Board of Corrections for five years and during that time codified into official form the Board’s handbook. She retired after two decades of service to the state.

Her family moved to Jonesboro in 1946 when she was 8 years old and she grew up listening with her cousin Joe, Jr., to St. Louis Cardinals baseball games on the radio. It was then that Nancy Ellen became a legendary Cards fan whose devotion to her team lasted a lifetime. In addition to her beloved Cards, she followed all of her UA sports teams with great enthusiasm and she could call the Hogs with the best of us.

Nancy Ellen’s love of travel took her literally around the world, but her favorite place was London. Her knowledge of London rivaled that of most London cabbies; in fact, she knew more about that city than did most Londoners, and she had many occasions to share her knowledge of England in general and London in particular as she traveled several times a year to “Merry Olde” often with family members and different sets of friends.

Near to Nancy Ellen’s heart was the Modern Literature Club of Fayetteville (established in 1926), a group of 35 women who met regularly in members’ homes to review and critique readings in contemporary literature. She took great pride in her decades-long membership.

Nancy Ellen’s strength and determined positivity enabled her to thrive even in difficult circumstances. After she suffered a debilitating stroke in 2015, Nancy Ellen’s life changed dramatically, but she met even that challenge with resilience and good humor. Reading, always vital to her life, became even more important. She wore out several Kindles and iPads devouring works that reflect her broadly inclusive taste in literature.

Nancy Ellen Talburt was by all accounts a force of nature, that rare person who emerges instantly as a brilliant problem solver, a positive force for good whose dedication to the people and things she held dear was inspirational. She will be missed.

Nancy Ellen felt a deep sense of gratitude to her special caregivers who made her life comfortable in recent years, and she was especially grateful for the gently persistent efforts of her physical therapist.

Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice. At Nancy Ellen’s request, no public service is planned.