Jewel Moore, former UCA biology professor and eponym of the Jewel E. Moore Nature Reserve, died on Feb. 25 at 103 years old.

Moore taught biology and ecology at UCA when it was still called the Arkansas State Teachers College from 1947 to 1983. 

Before teaching at Arkansas State Teachers College, she taught math and science at Mountain Pine High School and Beebe Jr. College.

Moore’s legacy was immortalized on UCA grounds in 1980 when the nature reserve was named in her honor.

The area that is now the nature reserve was originally used to pasture livestock in the beginning days of UCA. In 1977, Moore began using the pasture as an outdoor classroom.

Her dedication to students and love for the outdoors led then-UCA President Jeff Farris and the UCA Board of Trustees to name the reserve the Jewel E. Moore Nature Reserve after her in 1980. 

A UCA Foundation scholarship was also established in her name and is still given out to biology students today.

Throughout her life, Moore strived to make a difference in the community by spreading her love for education and the natural world. She even received the Conservation Education Award from Arkansas and National Wildlife Federation.

Moore also served as state president of the American Association of University Women from 1969 to 1971, vice president for both the state and Conway organizations from 1967 to 1969, and was named the 1976-1977 contributor to the Educational Foundation Programs.

Moore’s time at UCA is remembered fondly by her old coworker, Dr. Donald Culwell.

Moore and Culwell spent 13 years together on faculty at the Biology department.

Some of Culwell’s favorite memories of Moore come from the field trips they would take students on together. These trips included going to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for a wildflower pilgrimage and to the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. 

“She was excited to see the students get out and see life in a different place. We took tents and sleeping bags and did our own cooking in the campsite,” Culwell said.

The two also shared a passion for going on hikes. They would often take hiking trips to Blanchard Springs Caverns in Mountain View.

Culwell believes that Moore impacted the world through the lives of her students. He described her as a kind professor who was in her element when she could be with students.

“She was always smiling. She was willing and able to work with students. She loved to have students around, and they knew she was a friendly person,” Culwell said.

Moore was born June 5, 1918, in Hot Springs and died Feb. 25, 2022, in Conway.