Rita Littrell, Ph.D., served as director of the Bessie B. Moore Center for Economic Education at the University of Arkansas from 2004-2020. As an experienced classroom teacher, economic education coordinator, gifted education coordinator and school administrator, Rita brought a love for learning and economic education into her position in higher education as a professor and center director.
During her tenure as director, she developed an array of economic education curriculum projects that won national awards.
Her teaching awards and recognitions include Outstanding Young Educator, Phi Delta Kappa Educational Leadership Award, 6 National Council on Economic Education Awards, and the National Federation of Independent Business Award for Entrepreneurship Education. Rita developed economic education curricula taught in Aga Khan Schools in India and Pakistan. She also traveled to Russia, Lithuania, and Latvia to learn about their schools and economic education programs. This reciprocal program resulted in eight teams of economic educators visiting the Moore Center from Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Paraguay and South Africa.
