Carolyn Pollan
Carolyn Pollan was an American politician who served twelve terms as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives representing Fort Smith from 1975 to 1999. She left office when her eligibility expired, subject to the state term limits law.
Early life and education
Carolyn Joan Clark was born in Houston, Texas on July 12, 1937 to parents Rex and Faith Basye Clark. Her father worked in the Texas oil fields before moving the family to Springdale, Arkansas to enter the poultry business.Carolyn graduated from Springdale High School, then John Brown University. She earned her PhD in education from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She married George Angelo Pollan, a native of Ft. Smith.
Political career
During the 1960s, she became involved in Arkansas politics through her volunteer activities in support of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.Arkansas legislature
She first ran for the Arkansas legislature in 1974, winning a state House seat in a multi-seat district. The district would later become a single-member district. In all, she served 12 consecutive two-year terms from 1975 to 1999, when she was ineligible to run again due to Arkansas’ term limits law.Among her notable achievements in the legislature, Pollan became the first woman to serve as associate speaker pro tempore in the Arkansas House of Representatives. She was also a leading advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment, although the movement for ratification failed in Arkansas as the movement stalled nationally.