10/4/96

ATHENS, Ohio -- The John C. Baker Founder's Award, the Ohio University Foundation's highest honor, was presented to Leona H. Hughes, a 1930 graduate living in Sarasota, Fla., and Columbus resident Joan Galbreath Phillips, a 1946 graduate, during events celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Trustees' Academy on the Athens campus Oct. 4-5.

The award, presented for the first time last year as part of the joint celebration of President Emeritus John C. Baker's 100th birthday and the 50th anniversary of the Ohio University Foundation, recognizes "exemplary service to the Ohio University Foundation and outstanding philanthropic support of Ohio University."

Hughes and Phillips each received a plaque commemorating the award, and their portraits have been added to the permanent Baker Award plaque hanging in the lobby of the Ohio University Inn.

"It is a distinct honor and personal pleasure to recognize two women who have done so much and given so generously of their time and energy to the university and the foundation," said Jack Ellis, vice president for development and executive director of the Ohio University Foundation.

The Trustees' Academy is the university's major gift society. The Ohio University Foundation, founded in 1945 as the OU Fund, is governed by an independent board of trustees, and serves the university by overseeing the development program and allocating annual giving and endowment income to university programs and activities.

Hughes, president of Hughes-Burnett Inc., a holding company, was secretary of the National Alumni Board from 1977 to 1992. She currently serves on the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees and is a member of the foundation's development and membership committees.

Hughes organized and remains active in the Florida Suncoast Alumni Chapter in Sarasota and annually hosts senior university officials who visit Florida alumni chapters. She received the Medal of Merit Award in 1968 and the 1986 Distinguished Service Award, both from the Alumni Association.

Hughes chaired the general gifts phase and was a member of the Leadership Gifts Committee of the university's Third Century Campaign. The five-year fund-raising campaign, which concluded in December 1993, raised a record $132.7 million against a $100 million goal.

Hughes also is active in alumnae affairs for her sorority, Phi Mu, and in 1994 was named trustee emerita for life of that group's foundation Board of Trustees.

A member of the John C. Baker Council of the Trustees' Academy, Hughes' philanthropic support has ranged across Ohio University, and culminated with her commitment to fund the Lewis and Leona H. Hughes Endowed Chair in Economics.

Joan "Jody" Phillips made Ohio University history in 1975 when she became the first woman to chair the campus' Board of Trustees. Phillips was only the second woman to serve on the board. Her service to Ohio University continued a long family tradition: her late father, John W. Galbreath, a 1920 Ohio University graduate, was a dedicated and generous supporter of the university and constructed the chapel on campus in honor and memory of her mother, Helen Mauck Galbreath, a 1919 graduate.

An emerita member of the university's Foundation Board of Trustees from 1973 to 1994, Phillips served on several of the board's committees. She chaired fund-raising efforts for the Peden Stadium Tower Campaign and was a member of the Leadership Gifts Committee for the Third Century Campaign.

Phillips received the Medal of Merit Award in 1975, and was named Alumna of the Year in 1982. Her late husband, J. Wallace "Wally" Phillips, was named an honorary alumnus in 1983.

The College of Osteopathic Medicine's annual Phillips Medal of Public Service was established by and is named in honor of the couple. Jody Phillips served on OU-COM's advisory board, and received the Award for Achievement in Business from the university.

Active in volunteer activities in her hometown of Columbus, Phillips is a member of the Third Century Society of the Trustees' Academy. She has provided financial support for Konneker Alumni Center, Intercollegiate Athletics, the College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Ping Institute for the Teaching of the Humanities.