UA Little Rock to host March 11 Conversation with David Montague, Paige Bowers

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a virtual conversation with authors David Montague and Paige Bowers to discuss their new book on the life and legacy of the U.S. Navy’s ‘Hidden Figure’ Raye Montague.

The event, “Overnight Code: A Conversation with Paige Bowers and David Montague,” will take place from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11. Donna Terrell, the award-winning anchor of FOX16 News since 2004, will moderate the conversation.

“It is a privilege for the UA Little Rock Downtown Center and the Center for Arkansas History and Culture to work with David Montague and Paige Bowers to bring the extraordinary life of Raye Montague to our community through their discussion and the rich assortment of archival material that her family so kindly gifted to the university,” said Dr. Deborah Baldwin, associate provost of collections and archives at UA Little Rock. “Raye Montague’s story is an inspiration to all of us and a legacy to be protected.”

Montague, executive director of online learning and faculty mentoring at UA Little Rock, and Bowers, a nationally published news and features writer, released “OVERNIGHT CODE: The Life of Raye Montague, the Woman Who Revolutionized Naval Engineering,” in January.

The book tells the story of Montague’s mother, Dr. Raye Montague, an internationally registered professional engineer with the U.S. Navy who is credited with creating the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval ship.

UA Little Rock Downtown and the Center for Arkansas History and Culture are co-hosting the event in celebration of Women’s History Month and Diversity Month. In addition to the virtual conversation, UA Little Rock Downtown is hosting an exhibit of materials on display from the center’s Raye Montague Collection as well as some items donated from David Montague. The collection can be seen at UA Little Rock Downtown from March 11-31.

“We are grateful to UA Little Rock for hosting us in what promises to be a very special book talk,” David Montague and Paige Bowers said. “Not only will we be able to discuss the narrative arc of Raye Montague’s remarkable life, but we will be able to further illuminate it with her personal artifacts that are being lovingly preserved at the Center for Arkansas History and Culture. Archives like these are vitally important to the community at large, giving us tangible reminders of who we are and what we can become. Raye’s collection there is perfect proof of that.”

The collection includes Montague’s awards from the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Academy of Computing, and the National Computer Graphics Association. They also include a scrapbook and sweatshirt from Montague’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and a framed photograph of a battleship that Montague designed digitally.

The event is free and open to the public and can be viewed via Zoom at ualr.at/overnightcode.