He is a member of the Black Alumni Council and of the Ball State Alumni Council. Hughes was selected by the Alumni Council, the governing body of the university's Alumni Association, to serve as its representative on the board. According to state law, trustees must have two alumni serving on its nine-member board. Tom
DeWeese, president of the trustees, is also an alumni representative of the university.
A South Bend resident, Hughes earned his bachelor's degree in education in 1965 and his master's degree in sociology and psychology in 1972, both from Ball State. He is a former social studies teacher, who also coached track, cross country, and swimming teams, and sponsored the Booster Club and the Black Students' Cultural Society at South Bend LaSalle High School.
Hughes is the retired president and chief executive officer of the United Way of St. Joseph County Inc. He has served on the boards of numerous other organizations, including Memorial Health Systems, 1st Source Bank, South Bend Community School Corp., and South Bend/Mishawaka Area Chamber of Commerce. He resides in South Bend with his wife, Lavera, a 1972 Ball State graduate.



