Dr. Henry M. and Zula G. Yarbrough

Dr. Henry M. Yarbrough was a graduate of WKU, then Western Kentucky State Normal. He then received his A.B. in 1916, completed the requirements for the A.M. in 1925, and then earned his Ph.D. in 1930, all from the University of Indiana. He began teaching at WKU in 1915 and was chairman of the Department of Mathematics from 1930 to 1958 until his retirement. Henry was also a World War I veteran. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Association of America, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, American Men of Science, and Florence Station Methodist Church. He was married to Zula McCoy Yarbrough, and they had three children: Frank L. Yarbrough WKU ‘40), John Yernon Yarbrough, and Sara Yarbrough Whitaker (WKU ‘41). Henry passed away in 2008 at the age of 98 in Owensboro, Kentucky.

To honor his legacy, Henry’s family established the H. M. Yarbrough Mathematics Fund in March 1973. The award serves to recognize, encourage, and assist outstanding students pursuing a degree in mathematics. Through this fund, Henry’s memory on the Hill lives on in perpetuity.