For Immediate Release
April 2, 2007

Anchorage attorneys John C. Hughes and Mary K. Hughes have donated $276,000 for the benefit of University of Alaska students.» The father and daughter recently conveyed their individual interests in a Fairbanks real estate partnership to the University of Alaska Foundation.» The proceeds of their gift will benefit student scholarships through the Patricia Ann Hughes Eastaugh Memorial Teaching Scholarship.

University President Mark Hamilton said, “The Hughes family has shown a lifelong commitment to Alaska, as is evidenced by their years of personal involvement with the University of Alaska.» They have given countless hours of service and have also demonstrated their commitment through their generosity.»»» Without question, they are making Alaska a better place, both today and well into the future.”»

John C. Hughes and his late wife Marjorie Hughes created the endowed scholarship in 1999 in honor of their late daughter, Patricia Ann Hughes Eastaugh, a UA graduate.» The scholarship benefits students enrolled at University of Alaska campuses who are studying to become teachers and provides full funding (tuition, books, room and board) for a degree.» The scholarship already has produced two Alaskan teachers; both are teaching in Alaska. Because of regular contributions from the Hughes family, and strong investment returns, the endowment has grown so it can support up to four full time students annually with over $32,000 available for scholarships.

In finalizing the contribution, John C. Hughes said, “The University has been an important part of our family’s lives. It has provided an excellent educational experience not only for our family but for thousands of others.”

Mary K. Hughes, currently chair of the UA Board of Regents, as well as a Trustee on the University of Alaska Foundation’s Board since 1990, added, “Our family is proud to support the University because so many Alaskans benefit from the opportunities the University of Alaska offers.» Our personal involvement and financial support are ways we can share in the University’s success in enriching the lives of Alaskans.”

John C. Hughes was one of three Alaskans who joined together in 1974 to establish the non-profit University of Alaska Foundation, a separate entity that solicits and manages private funds donated for the sole benefit of the University of Alaska.» During his professional career, Hughes was a well-known attorney who began practicing law in Kodiak in the late 1940s. He moved to Anchorage in 1951 and became a partner with Davis, Renfrew & Hughes (now Hughes Bauman Pfiffner Gorski & Seedorf).

Also a former Hughes law firm partner and Anchorage Municipal Attorney, Mary K. Hughes is an alumna of the University of Alaska. In addition to her service on the Board of Regents and Foundation’s Board of Trustees, she currently serves as the Alaska State Director for the Office of U. S. Senator Lisa Murkowski. She also hosts a weekly radio show on AM 700 KBYR.»

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For more information, call Foundation President Mary Rutherford, 907/450-8030. A 200dpi image of Mary Hughes is available for download http://www.alaska.edu/opa/downloads/maryhughes200dpi.jpg.zip and John Hughes at http://www.alaska.edu/opa/downloads/johnhughes200dpi.jpg.zip.