Leona Hughes, BSED '30, said her late husband would have been proud of the scholarships she established in his memory for grad uates of Oak Hill High School in Jackson County in Southeastern Ohio.
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| Oak Hills school officials Darren Jenkins (left) and William Haines with Leona Hughes at a ceremony Feb. 12. |
The Ohio University Foundation announced in Febr uary that two new endowment funds have been established by Hughes-Burnett Inc. of Sarasota, Fla. Leona Hughes is president of the company and an Oak Hill High School graduate. Hughes-Burnett contributed $400,000 to endow two Manasseh Cutler Scholarships and $200,000 for two tuition scholarships.
Starting fall quarter 1999, the Leona and Lewis Hughes Cutler Scholars Award will be presented every other year to an Oak Hill High School graduate enrolling at Ohio University. The Cutler Scholars Progr am, a four-year undergraduate merit scholarship program modeled after the Rhodes Scholars of Oxford University, emphasizes development of leadership potential.
Starting in the fall of 1998, two other Hughes scholarships will cover tuition and fees for Oak Hill High School graduates attending Ohio University. The scholarships will be awarded every four years based on financial need and academic promise and will be renewed for succeeding years if academic standards are maintained.
The late L ewis Hughes grew up in nearby Gallia County and attended school in a one-room schoolhouse. Following the death of his father, Lewis assumed family responsibilities that precluded continuing his formal education. The owner of several Dodge-Plymouth car dealerships in the Cleveland area, he retired in 1950 and moved the company to Sarasota.
Leona Hughes became president of Hughes-Burnett in 1971 following her husband's death. A resident of Sarasota, she is a member of the Ohio University Foundation Board and a co-founder of Ohio University's Suncoast Alumni Chapter in Florida. She was awarded the OU Foundation's highest honor, the John C. Baker Founder's Award, in 1996.
A former member of the National Alumni Board, Hughes established the Hughes Endowed Chair in Nursing Informatics at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in 1996.
