Hoyt Purvis, a longtime journalism professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, died on Friday after an illness, his wife, Marion Purvis, confirmed.
Hoyt Purvis, 83, served as press secretary and aide to Senator J. William Fulbright as well as an advisor to Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. He also worked as a reporter at the Houston Chronicle.
Purvis began his career at the University of Arkansas in 1982. He taught journalism and political science and served as director and professor at the University’s Fulbright Institute of International Relations.
He retired from UA in 2016.
Hoyt Purvis (left) and Roy Rom visit at the Distinguished Citizens Banquet hosted by the Washington County Historical in this 2018 file photo. Purvis, 83, a longtime journalism professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, died Friday, May 26. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/ J.T. Wampler)